Outside of family members, T.J. Houshmandzadeh doesn't believe anyone knows Chad Johnson as well as he does.
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With that in mind, it speaks volumes that Houshmandzadeh has yet to speak to his former teammate, who remains in bunker mode five days after his arrest on a domestic violence charge.
Houshmandzadeh called in to the "Dave Dameshek Football Program" on Thursday, where he discussed Johnson's predicament and his own NFL future.
"I don't know the exact story. I feel bad for him, it's really unfortunate," said Houshmandzadeh, who starred with Johnson on the Cincinnati Bengals. "But again, I have daughters, any man that has a daughter, you don't ever want to hear another man allegedly putting his hands on a woman."
Houshmandzadeh stands by Johnson's character, despite the conflicting nature of the criminal charge he faces.
"He's just a genuinely nice dude," he said. "I mean, he does a lot of things that's over the top, but that's just for fun to put himself out there, but man Chad is too nice."
Houshmandzadeh said it's a "pretty good possibility" he'll play this season, but declined to disclose any teams that have shown interest.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.