Earlier in the day, there was what looked like a false alarm involving Chad Ochocinco’s release from the Patriots. Ochocinco left OTAs after 10-15 minutes and removed all affiliation to the Patriots from his Twitter bio. However, it was then reported that Ochocinco left because he had an eye appointment. Regardless of whether or not that is true, what is true is that Ochocinco is now no longer a member of the New England Patriots.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Patriots have released Ochocinco after desperately trying to trade the receiver during the day. It’s possible the eye appointment story was fabricated by the normally tight lipped Patriots as not to kill any trade value Ochocinco had left. However, at age 34 after a career worst season in which he caught 15 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown, Ochocinco probably didn’t have any trade value no matter what.

The Patriots acquired Ochocinco last offseason in a move that generated a lot of fanfare and possibly flashbacks of the Patriots trading for Randy Moss before the 2007 season. However, Ochocinco struggled to learn the playbook and barely saw the field at all down the stretch as the Patriots went to the Super Bowl. He continued to struggle with the playbook this offseason and with tons of depth at wide receiver, Ochocinco’s fate was sealed, even after he restructured his contract down to a 1 million dollar salary this season.

As for the rest of the Patriots’ receivers, Wes Welker, Brandon Lloyd, and Jabar Gaffney are locks to make the roster. Deion Branch is a veteran receiver who could stay on the roster. Julian Edelman and Matt Slater are also possibilities to stay on the roster because of their versatility and ability to play special teams and defensive back. It’s possible the Patriots could keep all 6.

As for Ochocinco, he could easily be done at age 34. If no one wanted him in a trade at the salary of 1 million dollars, he probably won’t generate much interest on the open market, even for the veteran’s minimum. If he is, in fact, done, Ochocinco would retire with 766 catches for 11059 yards and 67 touchdowns in 12 seasons. He is 26^th all-time in receiving yards and would have to wait and see if the Hall of Fame calls. It’s possible his “antics” could keep him out, but statistically he would appear to possibly deserve it.

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