Trade Chad? Lewis won't say
But Bengals star WR doesn't count out the possibility
BY MARK CURNUTTE
If the Bengals are thinking about trading Chad Johnson this offseason - as was reported over the weekend by ESPN - coach Marvin Lewis isn't tipping his hand.
On ESPN's pregame show Sunday, NFL reporter Chris Mortensen said that a "prominent member of the Bengals organization recently told me that the organization does have a decision to make on Chad Johnson, that he is so passionate and proud that if they decided to discipline him for some of those antics they believe he might shut it down.
"So how he finishes the rest of the year and the Bengals finish could bring them to a crossroads discussion on whether to even trade Chad Johnson in the offseason."
At his Monday news conference, less than 24 hours after the Bengals defeated the Jets 38-31, Lewis didn't directly answer this question: Is there any truth to reports you might be looking to trade Chad Johnson?
"Did that come from anyone here?" said Lewis, who is the Bengals' "one voice," per team policy, to the media.
Told by a reporter that ESPN cited an official inside the Bengals organization, Lewis said, "Is there a source inside this organization? Not the last time I checked. I don't think there (are) any sources inside this organization."
Did ESPN talk to you?
"No."
Johnson, chased down Monday by a half-dozen reporters in the players' parking lot adjacent to Paul Brown Stadium, didn't snuff out trade talk.
"There is always truth in something," Johnson said when asked about the report.
Johnson actually has been more low-key on the field than in previous seasons. True, he slipped on a homemade hall of fame jacket after a touchdown in the opener Sept. 10 and jumped into Cleveland's Dawg Pound on Sept. 16.
Since then, Johnson has largely been quiet, but there have been some other incidents.
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