UPDATING SLEEPY CHAD: It would seem that Schefter's version of getting into with someone in the organization and leaving a team meeting was slightly off. When someone gets into it, we don't think it's management applying team rules; we're thinking that civility is abandoned and total Mad Max anarchy explodes. The dude overslept and missed a team meeting. Brad Johansen writes:

Chad Johnson will be deactivated from the game tonight for being late to an 8:30 p.m. meeting last night after arriving from Pittsburgh. Chad told the coaches that he overslept and begged Marvin Lewis to play this evening but was told that he has to be abide by the same rules that everybody else on the team has to abide by and that when rules are broken there are consequences. Chad said no matter how hard he tried to convince the coach to play he understands the ruling. Johnson was dealing with a swollen right knee that he injured Tuesday in practice and was having difficulty running on Wednesday but was still planning to play Thursday night.

UPDATE II: Oil Slick Speaks! (for those of you new to the site, Oil Slick is in reference to Chad Johnson's agent, Drew Rosenhaus -- or as The Walrus calls him, RosenSATAN

“Certainly I’ve spoken with Chad and one thing I’m not going to do is get into the team’s policies. They’ve decided not to reveal what the team infraction is and I respect that. And on Chad’s behalf, we’re not going to release that information. The bottom line here, where I came on at ESPN’s request, is simply that Chad is sorry that he will not be playing. There is not a meltdown in Cincinnati. He met with Coach Lewis as have I. I also spoke with Troy Blackburn of the Cincinnati Bengals organization. Chad is going to be rooting for the team tonight. He’s disappointed that he’s not playing. There is no controversy. He will be back. He will finish the season strong. He’s going to do everything he can to help the Bengals win the next five games that he will be able to play in.”

Of course, one has to wonder why Chad overslept an 8:30 p.m. meeting and why his roommates or best buddy T.J. didn't account for him beforehand; not that Chad needs a babysitter, but typically friends look out for each other. Is this a cover? And for those of you media-types that keep referencing Chad as Ocho _____ (fill in the blanks), that stopped being funny, like five months ago.

ORIGINAL: We're really not sure what could prompt the team to bench Johnson for Thursday's game, effectively a one-game suspension. It's further odd that Hobson described the team announcement as "terse". Sorry if I don't care for it, but the Bengals said they won't comment until after the game, which historically means they'll blow it off, downgrade whatever incident took place.

But it was an incident.

Adam Schefter writes, "Got a call early this morning that Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson got into it last night with someone in the Cincinnati organization and left a team function. Details were sparse and fluid and after reaching out to the Bengals, they released this statement:"

"Into it" could mean several things, ranging from arguments to full headlock maneuvers with the wide receivers coach. Either way, if the "into it" was physical, we may never see Chad Johnson in a Bengals uniform ever again. If it's just an argument, well, cooler heads could prevail. From the language used to announce this, and report it, I would vote for the former.