If you thought "Hard Knocks" was done with Chad Johnson just because he's no longer on the Miami Dolphins, think again.
HBO couldn't say goodbye to its star who went away too soon (Episode 2, to be exact), so producers shoehorned an update on the free-agent wideout into Tuesday's season finale.
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"The Dolphins, I let them down, I messed up," Johnson said during a break from drills with his personal trainer. "I got to suffer the consequences. I made that bed, I gotta lay in it. That's the reason I got to start all over."
At one point HBO cameras cut to a large, apparently new tattoo on Johnson's calf, depicting Evelyn Lozada, his estranged wife.
"How'd I even get to this point? Somewhere along the way, I lost focus," he said. "I lost something that I love. I lost two things that I love because of my immature actions. I'm going to get both of those back. One step at a time."
The three-minute segment acted as a glorified infomercial for any teams interested in a humbled, faded star on the cheap. Johnson's grueling workouts are documented like a "Rocky" training montage, including drills on a high school field sponsored by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. Awkward.
Johnson vowed he can played five more seasons and said the events of the past month will make him a better player. Asked what the team that signs him would get, the charismatic, vulgar Johnson you remember from Episode 1 came out.
"Chad Johnson ... (pause for effect) ... that trucker is good."
He didn't say "trucker."
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus
