Report: Chad Ochocinco released from New England Patriots [UPDATE]

Chad Ochocinco, wide receiver for the New England Patriots, is rumored to be cutting ties with the team. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Chad Ochocinco, the wide receiver for the New England Patriots, has been released by the New England Patriots, according to ESPNs Adam Schefter, citing league sources.

According to the tweet late Thursday afternoon from Schefter:

"After unsuccessfully trying to trade WR Chad Ochocinco throughout the day Thursday, the Patriots are releasing him, per league source.

Ochocinco was not present for the teams practice on Thursday and reports are that he showed up to the team's Gillette Stadium this morning and left 15 minutes later, according to The Boston Herald.

Ochocinco was not at practice today, and a source told colleague Karen Guregian that he was at Gillette Stadium this morning, though he left 10-15 minutes later. Then, due to the fact that Ochocinco’s Twitter bio doesn’t include any information about the Patriots, speculation swirled that he was cut. (It’s extremely dangerous to assume anything from a Twitter account.)

Mike Florio of NBCSports.com reported Thursday afternoon with conflicting news on whether he has been cut:

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Ochocinco remains a member of the Patriots as of this posting, despite multiple accounts that he was cut.

Schefter had initially tweeted that Ochocinco left the stadium for reasons not tied to football:

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/210805207209230338

At the beginning of the off-season, Ochocinco restructured the base salary of his contract for next season and is now set to be paid $1 million instead of $3 million, if in fact he remains with the team.