The rumors pop up like weeds in the grass, one after another after another. Someone will take Larry Johnson. Someone will be so desperate for a running back, even one that appears used up, that they’ll take on Johnson’s unstable and unpredictable personality. It’ll probably only cost them the veteran minimum.
Johnson, the former Nittany Lions running back, will get another chance, because that’s what happens in the National Football League. You’re not done until the worst team doesn’t want you. And yes, the Washington Redskins are in need of a running back because Clinton Portis suffered a concussion last week.
So the rumors are there. Maybe Pittsburgh. Possibly Washington. Perhaps New England. But buyer beware.
“He’s not nearly as good as he once was, and he is a strange cat,” one general manager told me. “Not good enough to put up with. He always has something. Either saying stupid things or doing stupid things.”
The most recent stupid things Johnson did cost him his job with Kansas City. After a particularly excruciating loss to San Diego a couple of weeks ago in what has been a season filled with losses, Johnson’s frustration bubbled over into a Twitter rage. He blasted his first-year head coach, Todd Haley, insulted Chiefs fans, and then used a gay slur that he repeated to reporters the next day. Kansas City suspended Johnson, their first-round draft pick in 2003, and then on Monday released him.
Looking at Johnson’s numbers, he appears to be a shell of his former self. When he burst into the league, the Chiefs had hands down the best offensive line in the NFL. He was stuck behind Priest Holmes, but not for long. He made nine starts in 2005 and racked up 1,750 yards and a career-high 20 touchdowns. The next season, he carried an NFL-record 416 times, for 1,789 yards and 17 touchdowns.
But as will happen, the offensive line turned over, and Johnson declined. There were plenty of controversies too, including no fewer than four arrests on various charges, all that later were dropped.
In seven starts this season, Johnson averaged just 2.7 yards per carry, far from the 5.2 yards of 2005.
No less of an authority than former Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said he thinks Johnson can still play. But it’s a tough call. Johnson will turn 30 this month, and the stats usually don’t lie. When it’s over for a running back, it’s over, a harsh fact that players have trouble grasping. Ask Portis. Or LaDainian Tomlinson. Or, perhaps, Brian Westbrook.
So far, there are only rumors about Johnson. But soon, some team will pick him up. All it will take is one.
Comments
LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.