Chad Ochocinco Released by Patriots After Reported Unsuccessful Attempts to Trade Receiver

by Mike Cole on Thu, Jun 7, 2012 at 7:59PM

On the other hand, Chad Ochocinco is apparently no longer a Patriot.

The Patriots announced Thursday that they have released Ochocinco. The decision came after unsuccessful attempts to trade the wide receiver, ESPN.com reports.

Ochocinco was reportedly at Patriots OTAs on Thursday for 10-15 minutes before leaving Gillette Stadium. It was rumored that the wideout might be cut, but reports surfaced that indicated that he was indeed still part of the team, and that he left early because he had an eye doctor appointment.

It's obvious now that either that was bad information, or Ochocinco was still with the Patriots until late afternoon when they decided that they would release him after not working out a trade.

Ochocinco took to Twitter to weigh in on the matter.

"Thoroughly enjoyed the oppurtunity to play for the "Patriot" organization," he tweeted. "Fans were [expletive] wicked awesome, I wish all of you the best…"

Ochocinco played just one season with the Patriots after the club traded for him prior to the 2011 campaign. That one season didn't go very well at all, as the veteran caught just 15 passes in 15 games, only one of which was a touchdown.