T . J . Houshmandzadeh Touraj Houshmandzadeh , Jr . ( ; born September 26 , 1977 ) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent . He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft . He played college football at Oregon State . Houshmandzadeh is of mixed heritage : his mother is African - American and his father Persian . Houshmandzadeh has also played for the Seattle Seahawks in 2009 , the Baltimore Ravens in 2010 , and the Oakland Raiders in 2011 . College career . Cerritos College . T . J . dropped out of Barstow High School in Barstow , California . He later enrolled at Cerritos College . In his two seasons with the Falcons in 1998 and 1999 , he was a two - time First - Team Mission Conference selection at wide receiver and kickoff returner . He wanted to play as running back his freshman year , but believing he was too tall to play running back , he voluntarily moved to wide receiver . He finished his Falcons career with 1 , 152 receiving yards on 65 receptions . He also had two 103 - yard kickoff return s and an 92 - yard punt return . Oregon State University . Based on his junior college performance , Houshmandzadeh was offered an athletic scholarship at Oregon State University by then head coach Dennis Erickson . Oregon State is where he and future Cincinnati Bengals teammate Chad Johnson first met as Beaver teammates . In his sole season as a starter for Oregon State , Houshmandzadeh caught 42 passes for 656 yards and six touchdowns . He helped his team defeat Notre Dame in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl . T . J . contributed a receiving touchdown , assisting his team to a 41 – 9 victory . Professional career . Cincinnati Bengals . T . J . Houshmandzadeh was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round ( 204th overall ) in the 2001 NFL Draft . Houshmandzadeh had a modest rookie season , recording 21 receptions for 228 yards , while also being used to return punts and kickoffs . His most notable achievement was in a game against the Cleveland Browns , in which he set a franchise record with 126 punt return yards . After the 2001 season , questions about Houshmandzadeh ' s speed led to him slimming down to his current playing weight of about 200 pounds , which increased his on - field performance remarkably . Houshmandzadeh has gained a number of rushing yards on reverse plays . In 2004 , he rushed six times and gained 51 yards ( 8 . 5 yards per attempt ) ; in 2005 , he rushed eight times for 62 yards ( 7 . 8 yards per attempt ) and scored his first touchdown . Houshmandzadeh was called one of the NFL ' s most underrated players by many pundits . In fact , ESPN . com analyst K . C . Joyner noted that with only three dropped passes in the 2005 season , Houshmandzadeh ranked first in the league with a 2 . 6 dropped pass percentage . " They ' re both unique , " says former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer of his primary receivers . " They do completely different things well and complement each other perfectly . T . J . ' s a physical guy ; a physical blocker , physical when he gets the ball . He ' s like ( the Pittsburgh Steelers ' ) Hines Ward . " Houshmandzadeh missed almost all of the 2003 season with a severe hamstring injury . In 2004 he was listed as the team ' s third receiver behind Peter Warrick and Chad Johnson . However , Warrick became injured and Houshmandzadeh was promoted to the starting lineup with Johnson . Houshmandzadeh took advantage of his opportunity to prove himself , recording 73 receptions for 978 yards and four touchdowns . With the release of Warrick during the 2005 training camp , Houshmandzadeh retained the starting position and he and Johnson soon earned recognition for being among the NFL ' s most exciting receiving tandems . Houshmandzadeh and the team ' s high - powered aerial attack is credited as a primary reasons for the Bengals ' recent resurgence and he was given a four - year , $ 13 million contract and an undisclosed bonus in March 2005 . Early in the 2005 season , Houshmandzadeh suffered an injury to his right hand , which limited his effectiveness for several games . In the 2006 season , he battled a recurring minor foot injury that kept him out of the first two games of the regular season . On September 24 , 2006 , he made his season debut , catching nine passes for 94 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns in the Bengals ' 28 - 20 win over their division foe Pittsburgh Steelers . The second of these catches was a tough reception in the end - zone against Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend . Even though he was closely guarded by Townsend , Houshmandzadeh was able to tip Carson Palmer ' s pass , catch it , and gain possession as he landed on his back . For his performance , he was named the AFC offensive player of the week . In mid 2006 , he suffered a mild concussion during the Bengals 49 - 41 loss to San Diego from an early hit by San Diego Chargers Free Safety Marlon McCree . He started as wide - out in both of Cincinnati ' s following victories against the New Orleans Saints and the Cleveland Browns . Houshmandzadeh finished the 2006 season with 90 receptions for 1 , 081 yards and nine touchdowns , all career highs . His 90 receptions and nine touchdown catches led his team . He and Chad Johnson also became the first Bengals teammates ever to each record over 1 , 000 receiving yards in the same season . Houshmandzadeh opened the 2007 season by scoring a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens and two touchdowns in the loss to the Cleveland Browns . Against the Seattle Seahawks , Houshmandzadeh totaled 141 yards on 12 receptions for one touchdown . By the end of the year , he finished with a franchise record 112 receptions for 1 , 143 yards and 12 touchdowns . His 112 catches tied him with Wes Welker for the most in the NFL . He was also selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career . In 2008 , Houshmandzadeh had 92 catches for 904 yards and four touchdowns . He did this while Carson Palmer was out with injury for most of the year . Seattle Seahawks . Houshmandzadeh was signed by the Seattle Seahawks on March 2 , 2009 to a five - year $ 40 million contract with $ 15 million guaranteed . He had also been courted by the Minnesota Vikings . The Cincinnati Bengals reportedly gave him an offer , but he countered the statement saying " Cincinnati ' s offer wasn ' t enough for me to continue to play there , I think I should be able to start fresh . " He jokingly went on to say " I want to win some games for once " , which is a reference to the Bengals ' history of losing . Ironically , the Bengals swept the AFC North on their way to a 10 - 6 record , while Seattle finished 5 - 11 . Houshmandzadeh , however , had a decent year statistically , with 79 catches for 911 yards for an 11 . 5 yard receiving average , but only scored three touchdowns . On September 4 , 2010 , the Seahawks released Houshmandzadeh . Baltimore Ravens . Houshmandzadeh signed a one - year deal with the Baltimore Ravens on September 6 , 2010 for the veteran league minimum of $ 855 , 000 . However , since his $ 7 million salary with the Seahawks was guaranteed in his previous contract , Seattle paid him the remaining $ 6 . 15 million for 2010 . During his short and disappointing tenure in Baltimore , " Housh " mustered only 30 receptions for 398 yards . He managed to score only 3 touchdowns , although one of them won Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers . In the 2010 Divisional Playoff loss vs . Pittsburgh , Houshmandzadeh dropped a critical pass which would ' ve converted a fourth down and potentially changed the outcome of the game . That , combined with his frequent complaining and general poor play , led to him not being re - signed . " If I go to the right team I ' ll shock a lot of people , " he said while he was a free agent . On August 15 , 2011 he worked out for the Patriots . He also worked out for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers . Oakland Raiders . The Oakland Raiders signed Houshmandzadeh on November 1 , 2011 . The signing reunited Houshmandzadeh with former Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer , as well as Head Coach Hue Jackson who was a former assistant with the Bengals . On December 4 , 2011 , against the Miami Dolphins , he caught his first touchdown as a Raider , a forty - yard deep strike from quarterback Carson Palmer , which was his only catch in the 34 - 14 rout by Miami . He finished 2011 with 11 catches for 146 yards , and the touchdown on a 13 . 3 yard receiving average . Andy Furman incident . Andy Furman , a sports commentator on Cincinnati ' s 700 WLW ( 700 AM ) was fired on November 1 , 2006 for calling Houshmandzadeh a racist on the air . On October 5 , 2006 , Houshmandzadeh failed to appear for a paid appearance on the show the previous evening . The next evening , Furman , a New York City native , alleged that he heard from another source that Houshmandzadeh called him a " punk - ass white boy " for criticizing the no - show . Houshmandzadeh has denied making the comment . Name . The name Houshmandzadeh ( ) is a Persian compound name meaning the " son ( زاده ) of wisdom or intelligence " . Houshmandzadeh ' s name pops up in the name of the greatest dog of all Time fantasy football television commercial where a fantasy player cannot pronounce his surname properly with words like " Houshamazilla " , " Houshmazode " , " Houshvadilla " and even to " Houshyamomma " . Ex - Teammate Chad Ochocinco introduced him as " T . J . Who ' s - your - momma " on television during an ESPN " Monday Night " pre - season game on August 28 , 2006 . Coincidentally , Houshmandzadeh would have a career season that year . ESPN later referenced Houshmandzadeh ' s 2006 season in 2011 in a similar fantasy football commercial with the " Karaoke Draft of ' 06 " , with a fantasy football fan singing Houshmandzadeh ' s name to the tune of " Barracuda " by Heart . In Electronic Arts ' " Madden NFL " series of games , Houshmandzadeh ' s surname is shortened to " Houshmandz " . The game limits last names to 12 characters , and his name is 14 characters . Several other players have shortened names , such as Ben Roethlisberger , Dominique Rodgers - Cromartie , LaRod Stephens - Howling and Kory Lichtensteiger . These players ' jersey names have been fixed in since " Madden 2010 " , but the 12 - character limit still remains . Usually on NFL highlights on ESPN , Chris Berman says T . J . " You say Houshmandzedah " and Tom Jackson says " I say Houshmandzadeh " His surname is often shortened to " Housh " or " Hoosh " by fans , which is sometimes mistakenly interpreted as booing .