Photo: Beth Hart, Flickr When the Dolphins traded away Brandon Marshall, they effectively parted ways with his regular off-the-field incidents.
Unfortunately, another player took over where Marshall left off.
Newly-acquired reciever Chad Johnson was arrested for a domestic incident Saturday night, according to Omar Kelly of the South Florida Sentinel. Johnson allegedly head-butted his wife, Evelyn Lozada, during a heated confrontation in a car.
Lozada was treated for a forehead laceration at a nearby hospital. The couple married on July 4.
The 34-year-old receiver has yet to suit up in an official game for the Dolphins and had no catches and one drop in his preseason debut on Friday.
The Dolphins took a one-year flier on Johnson on June 11, hoping they could get some production out of the former All-Pro who was coming off a terrible season in New England. At that point, Miami was planning to start Brian Hartline and Davone Bess at wide receiver and needed some help at the position.
At some level, the signing made sense. Johnson would be motivated to focus on the field and not his persona after a bad season, and Miami needed some genuine talent at the position. Johnson was also a Miami native and would have an opportunity to resurrect his career in his own backyard.
Legal trouble is the last thing the Dolphins needed from Johnson.
They just traded their most dynamic offensive talent largely because of his repeated domestic incidents. Now, the significantly-less-talented Johnson is putting the Dolphins back in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
Miami cannot afford to have one of its players providing average production and having problems with the law. Johnson's $925,000 contract is not guaranteed, and the team could cut ties at nearly no cost.
Johnson may have blown his last chance in the NFL on Saturday. He was lucky to find a team to take him on this time around and may need a miracle for another team to sign him.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, a Dolphins spokesman said, "We are aware of the situation and in the process of gathering all of the relevant information."
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