Chad Ochocinco: Ranking the 6 Most Likely Destinations for Ochocinco

Chad Ochocinco is most likely on his way out of Cincinnati. If you believe anything he says, he may also be on his way out of the NFL, professional sports or planet Earth.

What value Ochocinco will have going forward is debatable. He had a pretty poor 2010 season but was also on a terrible team full of head cases, catching passes from a quarterback who peaked in 2005.    

In descending order (for suspense), these six teams seem like likely landing places for Chad, either through a trade or off waivers.  

6) St. Louis Rams: I don't have any reason to believe that Ocho is anywhere on the Rams' radar, but the team used about 60 wideouts throughout the course of last season.

They'll clearly want to stabilize their receiving game to aid Sam Bradford's development (which they demonstrated by drafting two receivers and a pass-catching tight end in Rounds 2, 3 and 4 of this year's draft), and Ochocinco has proven to be durable, missing only five games since 2002.

The Ram's could seriously use a personality injection as well, and Ochocinco would certainly provide that.

5) Washington Redskins: Seems like a probable Daniel Snyder type move. I could see the Redskins trading two or three first-round picks and giving Chad a 20-year deal worth about $600 million. Laugh now, but just watch...

4) Chicago Bears: The Bears have needed a number one receiver for some time now, and adding a truly polished professional to compliment the athletic but raw receivers already on the roster seems like it would make a lot of sense.

Of course, the idea that the Bears would actually sign a veteran receiver just because they need one is a pretty silly thing to expect. It does appear that Ochocinco has been in contact with Jay Cutler, however.

3) New England Patriots: It seems like a good fit, since it became clear in the playoffs last year that the duo of Deion Branch and Wes Welker lacks the explosiveness to consistently move the ball against top-tier defenses.

Bill Belichick has shown the ability to make big personalities buy into his system before, and apparently he and Ochocinco are close.

2) Oakland Raiders: There seems to be some pretty good young receiving talent on the team already, and it might be nice to have a hard-working veteran alongside them to show them the ropes.

Wideout is probably not the Raider's greatest need right now, but would that really stop Al Davis from making a perceived blockbuster move? With a really good running game already in place, adding a proven threat to catch passes could really make this a high quality offense.

1) New York Jets: If I were to bet on where Chad would end up, my money would be on the Jets. Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and Brad Smith will all be free agents (if a new financial agreement ever happens), and in all likelihood the Jets will lose Smith and either Edwards or Holmes.

This opens the door for Ochocinco to join whichever of those two remain, along with Jericho Cotchery. I would dump Braylon who—though highly talented—is probably not reliable enough to pay the kind of money he's going to be looking for and bring in Ochocinco to form one of the top receiving corps in the league