Fansided

HBO Hard Knocks: Chad Johnson May Have Been Cut Regardless of Arrest

By Josh Hill

Chad Johnson was cut by the Miami Dolphins after his arrest for abusing his wife. But the tapes from HBO Hard Knocks show that he may have been cut regardless -- because he was no good on the field. (Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
Chad Johnson was cut by the Miami Dolphins after his arrest for abusing his wife. But the tapes from HBO Hard Knocks show that he may have been cut regardless -- because he was no good on the field. (Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE /
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Chad Johnson was cut by the Miami Dolphins after his arrest for abusing his wife. But the tapes from HBO Hard Knocks show that he may have been cut regardless -- because he was no good on the field. (Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE
Chad Johnson was cut by the Miami Dolphins after his arrest for abusing his wife. But the tapes from HBO Hard Knocks show that he may have been cut regardless -- because he was no good on the field. (Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE /

The straw that broke the camel’s back for Chad Johnson and the Miami Dolphins was the incident that happened on Saturday when Johnson attacked his now ex-wife Evelyn Lozada, head butting her after she found a receipt for condoms in his car.

Johnson was arrested and less then 24 hours later, he was jobless. But although the incident on Saturday was the final push, the latest episode of HBO hard Knocks showed footage that implied that Johnson may have been out of a job regardless of whether he abused his ex-eife or not.

In the episode which featured footage shot before Saturday’s incident, Johnson was seen struggling on the field in practice, going as far as to obnoxiously berate himself on the sideline. Johnson was tearing into himself for committing “a f—ing rookie mistake”. And then there’s head coach Joe Philbin, who was less then pleased the whole episode with Johnson’s grasp of the playbook and his performance in the Dolphins first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“Chad hasn’t done a lot inside, we’re trying to get him — you know, the big knock when he came here was he couldn’t pick up the system,” Philbin said.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Sherman looked like he was having a colonoscopy while he watched Johnson drop balls in both practice and the preseason opener.

But we weren’t watching the episode to watch Johnson struggle. Everyone watching was waiting for the money shot — Johnson getting cut by the Dolphins. And if you think HBO wasn’t going to have cameras rolling when that happened, then you were sorely mistaken.

“Coach, I’ve never been in trouble before — ever,” Johnson said to Philbin, pleading like a kid in the principal’s office. This of course is a glaring lie, as Johnson was arrested and served community service for another domestic abuse charge back in 2000. Philbin didn’t want to hear any of it, and the two men eventually shook hands with Philbin wishing Johnson all the best in his future.

“I wish it was different, I wish I could tell you something more encouraging, but I just think it’s best for both of us that we kind of part ways at this point in time.” Philbin said before officially parting ways with the wide out. Johnson’s locker getting cleared out was the final image of the episode; an episode that probably saw insane ratings given the build up.

But after reviewing the episode as a whole, it appears that the final image of Johnson’s locker getting cleared out would have happened no matter what. The bottom line is that the Dolphins just didn’t think Johnson was a fit and he did himself no favors in convincing them otherwise whether it be from his performance or his off-field actions.

But hey, for the kind of showman that Johnson was his whole career, it’s fitting that it flamed out with camera’s rolling. Except this wasn’t cute or amusing. Instead, Johnson limped into probable retirement begging for his job back.

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