When the Cincinnati Bengals used the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft to pick star Georgia WR AJ Green, the signal was clear: the Bengals were moving into a new era, and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson wasn’t to be a part of it. Despite a decade-long haul with Cincinnati, Chad Johnson was traded that year to the New England Patriots.

Bengals’ front office viewed Green as the immediate WR1 replacement for Johnson, assuming the seven-time Pro Bowler would not accept a reduced role or backseat to a rookie WR. He revealed on a recent episode of Nightcap that despite spending 10 seasons with the franchise, amassing 751 receptions, 10,783 receiving yards, seven 1,000+ yards seasons, and 66 TDs, head coach Marvin Lewis and the front office never pulled Chad Johnson aside to discuss his future.

“For me, I wish Marvin would have told me instead of trading me in general,” Chad Johnson said about things leading up to his trade in 2011 on the Nightcap. “I wish, knowing that they were going to draft A.J. Green once I was gone, I wish they would have made me a number two. I wish they would have come to me. Listen, I would have had no problem. I done put a whole decade in. I would have no problem. Let me go be the number two; hell, let me even be the number three. 

“I wish things would have went that way, but I just don’t think they felt or understood that I was willing to take a backseat to someone else new coming in. I would have had no problem taking a backseat to A.J. Green coming in and him being the man and giving him the torch. Boss man, it’s your go. I got maybe two, maybe three years to go before I’m up out of here; I have no problem taking a backseat and let you take over.”

The 2x First-team All-Pro would play a solitary season with the Patriots, starting only 3 games. Post that he moved to Miami, before his NFL career effectively ended on August 12, 2012, when he was released by the Dolphins following an arrest, and he later quietly transitioned out of pro football after brief stints in the CFL in 2014.

AJ Green, the man who took his place on the Bengals roster, would have a fantastic start to his Bengals career with 7 straight Pro Bowl selections, including five consecutive seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards. However, injuries would derail his career after a dominant start as he started losing his speed and explosiveness. 

The reason behind Chad Johnson referring to this personal anecdote on the Nightcap’s recent episode was to stress how transparency between the management and players matters to the latter, after a recent incident at the Cleveland Browns training camp that lacked transparency from HC Todd Monken. 

“Todd Monken had said that Shedeur Sanders would take all the first-team reps today except for a 7-7 period, but #Browns Deshaun Watson took the first snap in 11-on-11s today, a pass to Harold Fannin Jr,” Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot wrote on X on August 8 from the Browns training camp.

The QB1 battle between Sanders and Watson is still ongoing, with neither being the favorite to start yet. However, the Nightcap trio, including Chad Johnson, was definitely on Shedeur’s side after his own coach seemingly blindsided him due to a lack of direct, upfront communication.