With Chad Ochocinco Cut, What's Next for Veteran WR and New England Patriots?

It just never worked out.

That phrase holds true no matter what the reason was for the New England Patriots opting to release wide receiver Chad Ochocinco after first trying to trade him, according to ESPN.

For the Patriots, this was a low-risk, high-reward experiment that ended up with a low-risk, low-reward return. Ochocinco never grasped the offense, hauling in just 15 catches for 276 yards and a touchdown in 2011.

The Patriots were able to get Ochocinco to restructure his deal in March to make it more cap-friendly for the team, as the boisterous pass-catcher cut his base salary from $3 million to $1 million.

For Ochocinco, this was a chance to breathe new life into his career, a chance that was ultimately squandered and has now left Ochocinco looking for a new uniform. 

But now that the two sides have parted ways, it's time to look ahead to what's next for each party.

What's Next for Chad Ochocinco?

At this point, who knows?

Ochocinco has only ever been productive with one team, in one offense, with one quarterback.

In New England? It just never worked out.

Playbook complexities aside, if he couldn't get on the same page with All-World quarterback Tom Brady and couldn't provide a deep threat in an offense that completely lacked one, what are the odds he'll be able to do either of those things with another team?

It would depend on his landing spot, but on the bright side for Chad, this gives him an opportunity to catch on with a team in need of a wide receiver before camp, if there are any such teams. At this stage, though, it may take a training-camp injury before Ochocinco gets an offer from another team.

What's more, his personality has proven to be too much for some to handle. And although he was a model citizen in New England, one has to wonder if that will continue with another organization.

What's Next for the Patriots?

To say Ochocinco was expendable might be the understatement of the year.

His production didn't match up with his contract to the point where the Patriots weren't prepared to keep him unless he cut his salary by more than half. In that sense, the restructure helped minimize the impact against this year's cap. Cutting Ochocinco now means the Patriots only take a $1 million cap hit.

Beyond that, having already added wide receivers Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth and Brandon Lloyd in free agency, the Patriots feel comfortable enough in their core of receivers to part ways with Ochocinco.

The cut will allow for other receivers to get more reps in camp, allowing the coaching staff more of a basis on which to evaluate. 

Whether the assimilation to a Josh McDaniels-style offense was part of the reason for the cut is an unanswered question; with so many receivers in the fold who are already familiar with the offense, familiarity—both with Brady and the offense—may have been a big factor.

But whatever the reason, in the end, it just never worked out.

Erik Frenz is the AFC East lead blogger for Bleacher Report. Be sure to follow Erik on Twitter and "like" the AFC East blog on Facebook to keep up with all the updates.