From Rotoworld.com:

Coach Marvin Lewis said at the Bengals’ pre-draft presser Tuesday that Chad Johnson will not be traded.

“Chad’s not getting moved,” Lewis said. “I don’t know why people continue with the speculation.” The Bengals reportedly haven’t even been offered a third-round pick for Ocho, who is allegedly “crying” again to get out of Cincy.

There’s a good chance that the Bengals can’t move Ocho Cinco because nobody wants to give up a second or even third round pick to acquire him. And if a team did cough up a second or third rounder for him, they’d have to hope that he stays motivated enough to win.

The bottom line is that Ocho Cinco’s trade value has never been lower. He’s 31 years old and is coming off a poor year. If you were the GM of an NFL team, would you want to give up a second round or even third round pick for him? I wouldn’t, especially considering the draft is deep at the receiver position this year.

The primary people, agent Drew Rosenhaus and Ocho Cinco, are not saying anything. Last year, both were telling every media outlet within shouting distance that they wanted out of Cincinnati. This year Rosenhaus is staying true to his word by working behind the scenes and staying quiet.

According to ESPN.com, the Bengals’ salary-cap hit would be $4.87 million. It is a high figure, but not a crippling amount that might preclude a trade from happening.

Whenever he’s been asked, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has said he expects Ocho Cinco to be here and that he should have a good season. But at the league meetings a couple weeks ago, Lewis also said something that can be construed as a personal challenge to Ocho Cinco:

“In order to get back to being the Chad Johnson that everybody feared, he was a guy who worked very, very hard at his craft. And if you don’t do that, it falls away very quickly and people forget about you.”

So will Ocho Cinco be traded? Unlike last year, when there was a zero percent chance, it’s slightly possible. There is only one person who is going to make the final decision, and that is club president Mike Brown.

Considering Johnson is coming off one of his worst seasons of his career, is already 31 and didn’t show up to voluntary workouts, why would any team give up a high draft pick for him? Anyone who thinks the Bengals will be able to get a first or second round pick for him at this point is dreaming.