Chad Johnson signs with Alouettes

MONTREAL -- Former NFL star Chad Johnson will make his return to the gridiron in the Canadian Football League.

The veteran receiver signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday after impressing team officials at a minicamp in Vero Beach, Fla. He last appeared in an NFL game during the 2011 season with the New England Patriots.

"Chad Johnson did an outstanding job the last three days," Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said in a statement. "As we added him into the mix, it was to see how he communicated with the players, how he held himself, the way he physically held up, his true interest in coming to the CFL.

"It was a total evaluation so that it's a good fit. He was very happy and very excited to be on the field again, and we are happy to welcome him to the Alouettes."

Johnson, who once changed his last name to Ochocinco, spent most of his 11 NFL seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. In 166 career games, the six-time Pro Bowler caught 766 passes for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns.

He was in training camp in 2012 with the Miami Dolphins -- his hometown team -- but his contract was terminated one day after he was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery.

A plea deal was eventually worked out, but after a probation violation Johnson wound up going to jail for a few days after a judge objected to the way he slapped his lawyer on the backside in celebration.

Montreal already has a solid core of receivers in Duron Carter, S.J. Green and Jamel Richardson. The Alouettes will hold a training camp in June and open their regular season at Calgary on June 28.

Johnson is not the first player with a checkered past to be signed by the Alouettes. The team also gave oft-troubled running back Lawrence Phillips a chance on what became a Grey Cup-winning team in 2002.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.