According to a report by the Kansas City Star, the Chiefs and troubled running back Larry Johnson are working on some kind of settlement that would decide LJ’s future with the team.
Asked whether that settlement would involve a separation from the team, (Johnson’s agent) Schaffer said: “Not necessarily.”
Schaffer said Johnson’s side is working on an appeal of the two-week suspension the team handed down Wednesday for detrimental conduct. Schaffer said Wednesday night that he hoped an appeal would be filed early Thursday, and it’s possible that settlement talks could delay that appeal.
Johnson would lose more than $600,000 if he serves the full two-week suspension. He also could face further punishment from the league and the Chiefs when this suspension expires Nov. 9.
This situation seems a little ridiculous. Johnson was out of line, the Chiefs suspended him and will decide his future with the team over the course of the next two weeks. So what is there to “settle?”
There’s a good chance that Johnson will never play another down with the Chiefs, so maybe the team is trying to work out a deal where LJ gets to keep part of his contract if he just goes away. Then again, there have been reports that the Chiefs don’t want to outright release him because then it provokes other players to act up if they want to get out of town. So I don’t know what to think at this point.
We’ll see what comes out of this “settlement.”
