Chad Ochocinco will now play for his hometown after signing with the Miami Dolphins yesterday, The Miami Herald reports.
Chad Ochocinco has never been one to shy away from the camera (or any kind of attention for that matter), and he will likely be heavily featured in the HBO series Hard Knocks. The sports reality program will feature the Dolphins training camp in the upcoming season, which starts in August.
The contract is for one year. Coach Joe Philbin recently stated in a news conference that they were working out with the all-star wide receiver. They revealed on Monday that he would, in fact, be signing on the Dolphin program.
Ochocinco was released from the New England Patriots last Thursday. He had a dismal season with the program, with just 15 receptions for 276 yards and one touchdown. Even so, he wasn’t unemployed for long before the Dolphins nabbed him.
The Dolphins are hoping that Ochocince can fill the void left by wide reciever Brandon Marshal, who was traded to the Chicago Bears in March. He will join Brian Hartline, Davone Bess and Legendu Naanee in the wide out position.
With some training and determination, Ochocinco could find his way back to the numbers he posted with the Bengals, when he had six consecutive 1,000 yard seasons. Well, maybe not that good, he is getting close to the autumn years of his career. But he does have more in him than he showed everyone at New England. Ochocinco is going to have to learn the Dolphin system, and learn it quickly if he is going to have any chance of making it past the one season contract. Otherwise, we are going to see him in the same position next year.
Ochocinco will likely bring some flair to the HBO series Hard Knocks, which will go on a five episode run this summer, and feature the Miami Dolphins. One has to wonder if an enigmatic personality like Ochocinco’s making its way to the Dolphins training camp in time for the show wasn’t by design. According to USA Today, this conclusion is untrue, and the production team just now met Chad. Either way, HBO must be thrilled about the Dolphin’s new addition.