Tag: Larry Johnson rumors

Will Larry Johnson find a home?

November 12, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

The Steelers and Bears aren’t interested.

The Texans have already said no.

Even the Redskins shot down any potential rumors.

So will Larry Johnson find a home this season?

Johnson, cut by the Chiefs earlier in the week, is looking for a place – any place – to land for the rest of the season. He has already said that he’s willing to take a role as a backup, but even that hasn’t enticed teams to sign him.

LJ picked a bad time to be a malcontent (not that any time is the right time to be a malcontent). We’re to the point in the NFL season where bad teams are playing younger players in order to get a feel for whether or not they have a long-term future with the club and where the good teams don’t want to disrupt the locker room by bringing in a bad seed like Johnson.

LJ’s only shot is for a team to recognize that they’re on the bubble of making a second half push and would risk signing him to add some talent. The Bears, Jets, Dolphins, Texans, Jaguars, Ravens, 49ers, Giants, Packers and Panthers all fit into that category, but for one reason or another Johnson wouldn’t be a fit for any of them.

If I were to take a stab at where Johnson might wind up, my best guess would be Seattle. The Seahawks’ season is hanging in the balance and they definitely need help at running back. But the problem is that Johnson hasn’t been very good this season and the Hawks just cut a veteran running back that wasn’t very good in Edgerrin James. So why add Johnson, a player just as unproductive as James was but with more baggage, to the roster?

Given his history of off-field issues and his lack of emotion, desire and production, there’s a good chance that Larry Johnson won’t be playing for anyone this season.

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Will any team sign Larry Johnson?

Yes – someone will pick him up
6468% of all votes
No – he’s too risky
1920% of all votes
Not until the offseason
1112% of all votes

Total Votes: 94 Started: November 12, 2009 Back to Vote Screen

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Chiefs, Johnson working on a settlement

October 30, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

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.”

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Is it time for the Chiefs to dump Johnson?

October 26, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

Following the Chiefs’ embarrassing loss to the Chargers on Sunday, running back Larry Johnson took a couple verbal swipes at head coach Todd Haley via his Twitter page, then proceeded to use a homophobic slur to degrade another Twitter user.

Here are LJ’s tweets (from Yahoo! Sports):

• “my father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches. … google my father!!!!!!!”
• “My father played for the coach from “rememeber the titans”. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn”
Following those messages, an exchange appeared between Johnson’s account and another Twitter user, in which the other user made a reference to an incident in which Johnson pled guilty to disturbing the peace after allegedly spitting into the face of a female patron at a nightclub. A message on Johnson’s account referred to the other Twitter user’s profile picture with a homophobic slur, calling it a “[expletive] pic” and called the user a “Christopher street boy.” Christopher Street is a well-known New York City street which became famous as a symbol for the city’s gay-pride movement.
The message posted in Johnson’s account containing the homophobic slur read:
• “think bout a clever diss then that wit ur [expletive] pic. Christopher street boy. Is what us east coast cats call u.”
The final message of the night on Johnson’s account read:
• “Make me regret it. Lmao. U don’t stop my checks. Lmao. So “tweet” away.”

Johnson’s agent tried to put out the fire claiming that Johnson was just trying to pump his father up and didn’t mean to degrade Haley. But it’s pretty clear by Johnson’s tweets that he was taking a shot at his head coach.

This isn’t the first time that Johnson has gotten into a controversial situation off the field. He has had four arrests for various degrees of battery since the Chiefs drafted him in 2003, including an incident in which he spat in the face of a female at a nightclub. That incident cost him a one-game suspension.

Outside of a potential cap hit (which would be in excess of over $8 million), what’s stopping GM Scott Pioli from dumping Johnson now? LJ turns 30 in November, is averaging a career-worst 2.7 yards per carry and he continues to be a distraction. I realize he has been on his best behavior under the new regime up until this point, but this Twitter situation seems like another one of his attempts to get traded. The Chiefs are trying to move in a new direction under Haley and Pioli and they can’t do it if everyone isn’t on the same page.

If Johnson doesn’t fit into their long-term plans, then KC should cut bait and move on. Every year teams find running back gems in the draft and Pioli is one of the best player evaluators in the NFL. They could easily find a more productive running back and one that has less baggage.

Again, the cap hit would be tough for the Chiefs to swallow, but Johnson hasn’t done squat since he signed his new contract a couple years ago. The positives of cutting LJ seem to outweigh the negatives.

Should the Chiefs cut Johnson?

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Larry Johnson willing to stay in Kansas City?

April 1, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

Chiefs’ running back Larry Johnson has apparently pulled an about-face and is now willing to stay in Kansas City. (Johnson had originally asked to be traded following the 2008 season.)

Johnson had previously said he wanted to be traded. However, agent Peter Schaffer pointed out that Johnson is now interested in playing for the new Chiefs regime. Schaffer said, as an act of good faith, Johnson attended the Chiefs’ offseason workout program that began Monday. New Chiefs coach Todd Haley told reporters Monday everyone on the team “has a clean slate.”
Johnson’s grievance against the team is set to be heard Wednesday. It is over unpaid bonus money from last season. Still, Schaffer said that Johnson’s issue was with the former Kansas City brass and that he and new Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli are communicating.
“Everyone has an open mind about this and we continue to communicate,” Schaffer said. “I think the Chiefs know that Larry is a very talented young man. I think everyone is looking to moving forward.”
Johnson was suspended for a total of four games by the team and the NFL last year for off-field issues. Last week, he received probation for two separate nightclub incidents. Johnson, 29, has had a rocky career in Kansas City and last year’s incidents prompted speculation that he could be on his way out of town. He still could be traded or released, but Johnson now seems open to returning.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Chiefs even want L.J. back. Rumor has it that if they win their grievance against him, they’ll likely release him soon after. But maybe they’ll change their mind, too. After all, he’s still a quality player and even though he’s nearing the dreaded age of 30 for running backs, he clearly can still play at a high level. Everything depends on whether or not the new regime wants to take a risk in keeping the often-volatile running back.

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Chiefs to release Larry Johnson?

March 30, 2009 / Anthony Stalter

The Chiefs have filed a grievance against running back Larry Johnson and feel as though that his one-game suspension in 2008 was a break of contract. The Kansas City Star speculates that the Chiefs will probably release Johnson if they win the grievance.

At issue is $3.75 million of guaranteed money Johnson is due from the Chiefs in the contract extension he signed in August 2007. Generally, NFL salaries are not guaranteed, but Johnson’s contract calls for payments of $3.5 million this year and $250,000 in 2010 that the Chiefs must pay regardless of whether he plays for them.
The Chiefs claim the one-game suspension he received from the NFL last year for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy is a breach of his contract and frees them from having to pay the guaranteed money.
One source familiar with the situation said that should the Chiefs win the grievance, they would probably release Johnson, suggesting the team wouldn’t be going through the trouble if they didn’t intend to free him from his contract.
Johnson has asked to be traded or released since the end of last season. Unhappy with a diminished role with the Chiefs, Johnson said in the locker room in Cincinnati following the season’s last game that he wanted to continue his career playing for another team.

What an absolute headache. A couple years ago, Johnson threw a tantrum because the Chiefs weren’t moving fast enough on a contract extension. Then he requested a trade or his outright release at the end of last season and now the Chiefs have to go through the legal system in order to avoid paying Johnson $3.75 million in guarantees, which was a boneheaded move made by former GM Carl Peterson.

L.J. just isn’t worth the heartburn anymore for the Chiefs. Some team will jump at the chance to take the woman beater running back, but at 29, one has to wonder if his on field production will even be worth it in a year or two.

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