I was shocked when Larry Johnson was released by the Kansas City Chiefs. The reason for my emotion was this man, this football player, was at one time the most dominant running back in the NFL. Larry Johnson was the guy taken 1st overall in fantasy leagues everywhere. Until Monday, LJ, like Shaun Alexander at one point, was without a job.
Take a look now at the present situation. LJ was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday as an insurance policy for the injured starter Cedric Benson. Who wins on this deal you may ask. As the title of this post so figuratively states, LJ does.
Johnson will receive his $4 million still owed to him by the Chiefs. In addition to this, he will receive $255,290 from the Bengals (this total is equal to the minimum veteran contract amount for the remaining time left in the season).
This season with the Chiefs, Johnson had 358 yards on 132 attempts with 0 touchdowns. Why is this relevant? Well LJ will be playing for a team that is 11th in total rushing yards and whose three running backs have a total of 889 yards on 216 attempts with 6 touchdowns.