Boomer Esiason, Chad Johnson to join Bengals Ring of Honor

This year’s class — joining past inductees Ken Anderson, Willie Anderson, Paul Brown, Isaac Curtis, Anthony Munoz and Ken Riley in the Ring of Honor — will be recognized during a special induction ceremony during halftime of the Sept. 25 game against the L.A. Rams.

“Boomer and Chad were both exceptional players,” Bengals President Mike Brown said in a press release. “If you look at the statistics, Boomer has a long list of quarterback firsts here. And Chad was a superb athlete who was probably the quickest receiver we have had here. They could have moments when they just carried the team by themselves. Both players are very deserving of this honor.”

Esiason was regarded as one of the organization’s greatest locker-room leaders and ranks third in Bengals history with 27,149 passing yards and 187 touchdowns.

In 1986, he led the NFL’s most productive offense and earned the first of his three Pro Bowl nods with the Bengals. In 1988, he led the NFL with a 97.4 passer rating while helping the Bengals win the AFC Championship and was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player by the Pro Football Writers of America and the Associated Press.

During his 10 seasons in Cincinnati, Johnson became the franchise’s all-time leading receiver with 10,783 yards, the third most in the NFL during that stretch.

Johnson remains one of the most popular athletes to have played in the NFL, thanks to his electrifying performances, charismatic personality and on-field antics, which included elaborate choregraphed touchdown celebrations and boastful comments. The rise of social media over the last decade has kept him a big presence even beyond his playing days.