NFL Trade Rumors: With A.J. Green in Cincinnati, Is Chad Ochocinco Old News?

Once the Cincinnati Bengals were "on the clock" with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, it was quite obvious that they would select A.J. Green if the Georgia wideout was still available.

Could they have made the move to replace Ochocinco?  Or are the Bengals simply attempting to load up their offense with many dangerous weapons?  With six rounds left in this year's draft, anything is possible.

Either way, Ochocinco was once the talk of this town, but has recently become nothing more than a twitter-talking reality star.

ESPN's AFC North blogger James Walker said that the selection of Green most likely means that it is, "the end of the Chad Ochocinco era in Cincinnati."

This only makes sense, since the Bengals can likely trade him for multiple picks—not just for the current draft, but for the future.  

With the third pick in the second round of this year's draft, the Bengals could either pick Arkansas' Ryan Mallett or Andy Dalton of TCU to replace the unhappy Carson Palmer. Maybe they'll even hold out until the later rounds and go for a guy like Iowa's Ricky Stanzi or Alabama's Greg McElroy.

Either way, the Bengals need to pick up a quarterback in this draft and dispose of Chad Ochocinco.  Once Ochocinco is traded, a quarterback must be their immediate focus with the possibility of Jordan Palmer as their starting QB if such a move isn't made.

As a known Twitter-junkie, of course Chad decided to express his feelings across the world wide web as the drama unfolded during the first round of the 2011 NFL draft.

Once the Bengals selected A.J. Green, Ochocinco tweeted that, "He'd [A.J.] be perfect," and, "I've done all I can, my time is up."

The most obvious destination for Ochocinco would be a team that is in need of a veteran wide receiver, but will be able to keep him disciplined.  The Patriots would be a great fit for Chad and he would be a solid pickup for New England, who could afford to trade a few late round picks to acquire the struggling receiver.  There is a known respect between New England Head Coach Bill Belichick and Ochocinco, and the thought of Chad as a target for Tom Brady seems extremely frightening for opponents.

The future for Ochocinco is currently uncertain, but the best move for both himself and Cincinnati would be to move on.