New Details On Ocho Benching

From Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com:

 

After a tumultuous offseason filled with trade demands that ultimately culminated in a verbal agreement to behave on and off the field, the wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson is involved in another controversy.

 

The Cincinnati Bengals say Chad Ocho Cinco will be deactivated for Thursday night’s game with the Pittsburgh Steelers for violating a team rule.

 

The Bengals did not specify the violation and said there would be no further comment until after the game.

 

However, team sources shared with FOXSports.com details of the incident that led to the official reprimand by head coach Marvin Lewis.

 

A few local reports have surfaced that alleged that the receiver overslept and arrived late for a team meeting Wednesday night at the Bengals practice facility. Late or not, sources confirmed Ocho Cinco was extremely groggy. After taking his seat, Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski told Ocho Cinco to sit up straight in his seat. After the receiver refused, Bratkowski again repeated his demand.

 

At that point, Ocho Cinco stood up and walked out of the meeting altogether. After shouting at his player to return, Lewis chased him down. After several heated words were exchanged between the two, Lewis finally told Johnson to go home.

 

Ocho Cinco had ankle surgery in June and a shoulder injury in August and has not been as involved in the Bengals’ offense as much as previous years. Meanwhile, his former college teammate, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, has become the team’s primary receiver.

 

Houshmandzadeh leads the NFL with 73 catches, and has four touchdowns. Ocho Cinco, a down-field threat in previous years, has 41 catches, none for more than 22 yards.