Chad Ochocinco returned to Cincinnati on Friday.
Whether or not he will be back with the Bengals remains to be seen. The wide receiver practiced with players from the University of Cincinnati and he’s fully convinced quarterback Carson Palmer will not be playing with black stripes on an orange helmet this coming season.
“There's this one thing you have to understand about Carson. When a guy that grows a random beard says he's going to do something, he means it," Ochocinco told WXIX-TV, according to NFL.com. "Seriously. Seriously, That's totally out of his character. When someone like that grows a random beard and says he's going to retire -- if he doesn't mean traded -- he means business. And it's unfortunate, but it is what it is."
If random beards led to retirements, maybe a lot more hockey players would hang up the skates after losing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But Ochocinco isn’t the only player who doubts that Palmer will return to the team.
“I love (Palmer), you know that. You know how I feel about him, and I always will," Ochocinco said. "Everything I've done, I like to say that Carson is the reason for my success -- as so is everybody else. But, you know, he's the quarterback, period. And I think he's in a frustrated state, similar to what I was couple of years ago (when the receiver asked to be traded). And hopefully everything comes around. I understand we drafted Andy Dalton, who is a great quarterback, and after getting him, I've done my own homework in watching him ... and he's really good."
Ochocinco said he has a good relationship with coach Marvin Lewis, but he can’t predict where he will be this season after 10 seasons with the organization.
“I would love to still be here, and I have no problem,” he said. “I can't control the situation as a whole; I can only control me. And what I've done is I've been at peace for a while now. For a while now, you haven't heard a peep out of me as far as being a problem or saying things out of context, I'm just really supporting the Bengals' organization and the city."
How ready is Ochocinco for the lockout to end? He tried to bust in to Paul Brown Stadium to use the club’s workout equipment.
“I freaking plotted to get into Paul Brown; they changed the freaking gate code!" he said. "Yeah, I tried to get in on my own, I tried to get in the back way. I don't want to say it, but there's a way to get into the stadium even though they have the security and all the cameras -- I got the blueprint of the stadium."
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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune