Unemployed for more than a month since being cut by the Dolphins a day after his domestic violence arrest, receiver Chad Johnson has now been formally charged with misdemeanor domestic battery, according to the Associated Press.
Though it some respects it’s a formality, it shows that the case will be moving forward.
On Thursday, Johnson will file a written plea of not guilty. The process then will unfold via a series of hearings culminating in a trial, absent a plea deal or a decision by the authorities to not prosecute the case.
Meanwhile, no team has shown any interest in Johnson, whose career perhaps has fittingly ended not via a walk-off touchdown or a Super Bowl win but via a scene in a reality TV show.