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Chad Johnson recently came out and demanded he be traded from the Bengals, and immediate speculation ensued among 49er fans, who long for the days of top-flight recievers in San Francisco.  Could the 49ers acquire Johnson?  What could the 49ers have that the Bengals would want?

Chad the Distraction
I am as close to Cincinnati as I am to Indianapolis, and I see a lot of Chad Johnson.  He is nowhere close to the kind of locker room problems of, say, Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, or even Antonio Bryant.  What Chad is reacting to is the complacency of the Bengals ownership group.  For years their only concern has been selling tickets, not buliding a consistent winner.  Where 49er fans are accustomed to Hall of Famers and Super Bowls, Cincinnati fans are accustomed to losing.  The owners know they are going to sell tickets whether the team wins or loses.

Chad Johnson has done nothing but perform consistently on the field.  He is a fabulous possession reciever, as his primary contribution is catches and yards.  The TD celebrations are the only thing that really puts him in the public eye, but it’s entertainment.  He doesn’t score touchdowns all that often.  The media ALWAYS overhypes players like this, to make you believe all they do is whine.  Chad merely recognizes that win or lose, Marvin Lewis will have his job for as long as he wants it, and Chad will continue to labor without a real shot at a Super Bowl.

If I had to qualify him as a distraction, I would say he’s more like Deion Sanders.  Yes, he is flamboyant for the sake of entertainment, but when he’s on the field he is nothing less than a Pro Bowler, and he gets along with fellow players.  Don’t talk to me about this “rift” between him and Carson Palmer.  Carson is asserting himself as the leader of this team, but also making assumptions.  Johnson didn’t want anyone putting words in his mouth.  They’ve been playing together for years now with nothing to show for it, and Chad wants something to play for.

What Would the 49ers Trade?
First up is pick #29 in this year’s draft.  This is an absolute no-brainer.  There are no players in this year’s class that are good enough that we can’t pass them up.  There are solid Outside Linebackers valued in Round Two (Avril).  There are solid Offensive Linemen valued in Round Three (McGlynn).

But Cincinnati won’t part for just #29.  Chad is worth more than that.  Who would we trade to them?  I imagine that they covet Defensive Line depth, and everyone knows they absolutely need a Defensive Linemen in this draft.  We happen to have several young, capable players in that area.  I could see us unloading #29 and perhaps Melvin Oliver or Joe Cohen.

Would they take a trade for that?  Sure.  They have #9, they’d have #29, and they’d have a good young DT.  That’s three first-day values right there.

What About the Financials for the 49ers?
I’ll relay a conversation I had with my good friend and Cincinnati Bengals fan, Kevin Willis.  He’s also my cohost on The Fanboy Sportscast, still on hiatus.

Me: Well admittedly I’d love to see Chad in a 49er uniform.  However, we’ve only got 18 mil of cap space, and if we brought Chad in we’d have to let someone else go.  I know Scot McCloughan and the Yorks are not about to take a down-the-road cap hit for the guy.  However, it is possible (however unlikely) that Chad would agree to a less than market value contract for a chance to play with Martz and have a couple years of great numbers to boost said value.
Kevin: He makes about six million. You’d be giving up the #1 pick, so that leaves you $12 million to sign picks 2-7.  Should be plenty.
Me: But I’m considering the typical contract ballooning in the latter years.
Kevin: It doesn’t balloon.  We eat the signing bonus.  It is a good deal.
Me: How does it not balloon?  Cincinnati eats the signing bonus?
Kevin: The team that paid the signing bonus eats it.  It goes against our cap.  You just pay his salary.  You can cut him whenever you want without fear of the signing bonus accelerating against your cap.  It accelerates a little, but nothing major.  It stays in the $6 mil range.
Me: What’s the remaining term of his contract?
Kevin: Four years I think.  Don’t quote me.
Me: I just did.

So here’s the skinny:  Chad’s got four years left on his contract ( I looked it up, he was right).  This keeps him in San Francisco.  His signing bonus counts against Cincinnati’s cap, and we can cut him whenever we want.  He comes in, we tell him to cheer up and behave, and have Mike Martz use him to his full potential.  I think this would be an outstanding move for us, and we can still address our O-Line and Pass Rusher needs in the draft.