“I’m Innocent”: Chad Johnson Tries to Flip the Script on Anthony Edwards Trash Talk Before NFL Hall of Famer Calls His Bluff

After spending the better part of the offseason provoking Anthony Edwards, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson had a chance for a face-to-face confrontation. The former NFL All-Pro receiver even used the Nightcap episode to flex the bravado that came from sitting courtside, right next to the visiting team’s bench, when the Miami Heat hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2026-27 season opener. Yet the opposite of Ocho’s imagination happened. Right after, he tried to portray himself as a harmless bystander.

As it tends to happen when you trash-talk Antman, Antman puts his money where his mouth is. Contrary to Ocho’s predictions of the Giannis Antetokounmpo-Bam Adebayo partnership giving the Wolves a walloping, Ant opened the season with a 45-point masterclass on the way to serving a 131-106 blowout loss to the Heat. He even had the time to chirp at both the Heat bench and at Ocho courtside.

Fans’ cameras everywhere at Kaseya Center captured the verbal back-and-forth between Edwards and Ocho. At one point, after Edwards sank a three-pointer right in front of Ochocinco’s courtside seat, Ant turned and yelled directly at the former wideout. Recounting the moment on Nightcap, Ochocinco attempted to play the victim.

“He hit a three and looked at me, ‘What I told you, n—-?’ Oh my bad, but I’m just telling you what he said to me going back down the court,” Ochocinco said. “How you, you supposed to be focused on the game, why you talking to me? I’m innocent.”

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After the game, Ochocinco took to X with a similar proclamation, “Ant hits a 3 then trash talks me & I’m just a innocent civilian.”

Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe and former NBA All-Star Joe Johnson, who’ve been listening to Ocho rile up Ant since the Wolves-Heat season opener was set, were quick to call out Ochocinco’s antics.

Sharpe immediately shut down Ochocinco’s claims of innocence. “Nah, you ain’t innocent… Yeah, you got up, you got your a– up out of your seat. We don’t dare bother that man.”

Exactly as Unc described, there’s video footage of Ocho leaving his seat to approach Ant on the Wolves bench. What exactly was said is not known, but they were arguing several times.

That’s why Iso Joe warned his co-host, “Don’t go down there…”

Ochocinco insisted, “Hey, I don’t bother him. Hey, just listen, I let him know, ‘You in my home. This is my home. This 3-0-5.” Ochocinco then recalled Edwards’ pregame warnings. “Hey, Joe, didn’t he go say we was going to be on some BS, wasn’t he?”

“He told everybody. Not just you,” Joe Johnson replied.

Unboxing a pair of Ant’s signature Adidas sneakers on camera, Ocho tried to smooth things over. “Hey chat, these Ant-Man specials… We both Adidas athletes. So y’all make sure y’all go get my dog shoes, and you too can play like Baby Jesus. Baby Jordan,” Ochocinco added.

Joe, however, steered him back with a fair warning. “If a dude tell me when I come to your city, I’m on BS, I’m gonna trust him, I’m going to take him for his word… cause I know when he come, he ain’t gonna be playing no games,” Iso Joe said. “I told you before you took your butt up in that game, I said, ‘Listen man, you gon’ turn those folks up, and then he gonna put on a show.'”

Finally, Ocho admitted it’s how he unapologetically is. “I like it though, I like it, that’s what I do though, that’s what I do, I talk.”

The feud between Ochocinco and Edwards, which is not as serious as it appears, stemmed from comments Ant made during his second annual Believe That Awards livestream during the offseason. Warning the rest of the league about Minnesota’s renewed physicality following roster changes that added LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga, Edwards boldly declared, “We gon’ foul the s— out you. It’s a bunch of BS this year.”

On a previous episode of Nightcap, Ocho dismissed Edwards’ threats, insisting the Timberwolves “ain’t scary” and predicting a Miami Heat victory on opening night. Right before the game, Ocho confirmed he was seated right next to the Wolves bench and was “going to be talking so much trash to Melo and Ant.”

That went about as well as it did for Heat’s Myron Gardner, the Heat’s reserve forward, too. Edwards gave him the dubious credit for fueling his 45-point outing with his trash-talk.

That game, Ant silenced critics, responded to smack-talkers in kind and backed up every bit of his threats on the floor. Alongside new backcourt partner LaMelo Ball, Ant dominated Miami’s defense, outdueling Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 35 points in his Heat debut, and ensuring Ochocinco’s courtside jabs backfired completely.

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