Appearing on WDVE in Pittsburgh, Boomer Esiason had this to say:

“They had a huge fight in that locker room at halftime. It’s the truth, flat out. (Wide receiver) Chad Johnson got into it with their wide receivers coach, Hue Jackson. (Wide receiver) T. J. Houshmandzadeh and Marvin came over to break it up and Chad was uncontrollable.”

“He wanted the ball more, screaming and yelling. Guys are trying to tell him calm down; we’re all in this together; your quarterback’s hurt. I mean, show a little professionalism, for crying out loud.”

It looks like we’re at the point now where we can believe this. What reason would Boomer Esiason have to lie? If anything, being a big Bengals homer, you’d think he might want to cover it up. So I’m believing it. That’s a Boomer wedding picture to your right, by the way. I’m not sure why.

So if you’re the Bengals, how do you handle this? I mean, look at the situation. It’s the biggest game in the past 15 years of the franchise. And your star receiver flips out at halftime because he isn’t getting his catches? A team that’s serious about winning… you can’t can’t have that. You absolutely cannot bring that guy back into your locker room. How could you trust him? Trying to fight your position coach, and possibly even the head coach? That one’s not forgivable.

But at the same time, he’s difficult to move. If he leaves, a significant portion of the offense leaves with him, and that offense is on the verge of becoming one of the NFL’s best. It’s not a good time to be taking a huge step back. Not to mention his popularity among the fans. It’s a nightmare.

Tough spot for the Bengals, but if it’s true, I think there’s only one way to handle it. He’s got to go.