@RashidShaheed You up right now, call Carr while he’s sleeping & say “I’m Open” then hang up, you have to play psychological warfare & it will remain prevalent during games subconsciously, it worked for me. ⚜️
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) September 18, 2023
Leave it to Chad Johnson to share some advice with the next generation of NFL stars — after 1:00 a.m. “Ochocinco” shared some words of wisdom with New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed on social media, advising the second-year pro about strengthening communication with his quarterback through psychological warfare.
“You up right now, call (Derek) Carr while he’s sleeping (and) say “I’m Open” then hang up,” Johnson wrote to Shaheed, “You have to play psychological warfare (and) it will remain prevalent during games subconsciously, it worked for me.”
This is an anecdote Johnson has recounted before; in 2020, he recalled calling his old Cincinnati Bengals coaches Marvin Lewis and Hue Jackson in the middle of the night to tell them the same thing.
“Oh my God, all the time. All the time,” Jackson reminisced during an appearance on the I Am Athlete podcast. “And wanting to know what the game plan is, at two in the morning. I’m like, ‘Chad, Chad, we have meetings coming up in three hours, four hours.'”
The strategy worked. Johnson averaged 8.8 targets per game across his Bengals career and earned six Pro Bowl nods, twice making the All-Pro team. Even if it left his coaches and quarterbacks a little drowsy. Maybe Shaheed can make use of it, too.
All jokes aside, Johnson has been one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Saints receiving corps on a national stage. He was quick to identify Michael Thomas as a superstar before he won the Offensive Player of the Year award in 2019, and he set a very high bar for Derek Carr after he landed in New Orleans. Chris Olave is a player he’s called one of the fastest he’s ever seen with “an exceptional brake system,” so it’s safe to say he likes what he’s seeing from Shaheed and his Saints teammates after one of their better performances a week ago.
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