MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes are planning to take a look at former NFL star Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson at the CFL team’s open tryouts in Florida.
Alouettes general manager Jim Popp confirmed the news Saturday in a brief statement.
"We do expect to meet with Chad Johnson and work him out in Vero Beach, Fla., this week," Popp said. "Talks did take place and have escalated over the last week."
Johnson played 11 seasons in the NFL, the first 10 with Cincinnati. He last played in 2011 with New England, when he had 15 catches for 276 yards.
The 36-year-old Los Angeles native confirmed on Twitter late Friday that he was planning to attend a mini-camp Tuesday for some on-field work.
Over his career, the six-foot-one 188-pound Johnson has caught 766 passes for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns.
Montreal already has a solid core of receivers in Duron Carter, S.J. Green and Jamel Richardson. However, the team did release receiver Arland Bruce in the off-season.
On Saturday, the Alouettes kicked off the first of four spring tryouts across the United States. Over 50 CFL hopefuls were expected to participate in the opening session at the Historic Dodgertown facility for a chance to get an invite to training camp in June, the team said on its website.
The Alouettes will open their regular season at Calgary on June 28.
