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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Given good blocking and a fresh start, Larry Johnson might still be the power-running Pro Bowler who had back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons for Kansas City.
Are you listening, Seattle? What do you think, Indianapolis? Chicago? Houston?
Or he might be a declining malcontent who’ll only cost money and cause trouble.
To that, every coach and general manager in the NFL is listening.
The Chiefs released Johnson on Monday, the day he was due back from his second suspension in the past 12 months.
Any team with a faltering running game is bound to be tempted by Johnson, despite his baggage and age (he turns 30 Nov. 19).
“Any player that’s available, we look at,” said Bears coach Lovie Smith. “That’s been our standard policy throughout. That’ll be the case with Larry.”
Houston coach Gary Kubiak agreed.
“When a name like that comes on the free agent market like today, we’ll obviously go back and take a look at him just like any other player,” Kubiak said. “Obviously, he’s been a good player in this league, and I’m sure he’ll get a lot of interest from a lot of people.”
The Seahawks have the league’s 30th-ranked rushing offense. Starter Julius Jones has sputtered. And last week, Seattle released ineffective backup Edgerrin James, the NFL’s active rushing leader.
Yet when asked whether he was interested in adding a veteran running back, coach Jim Mora said: “No. ... Right now, we’ll just stick with what we’ve got.”
Johnson’s last brush with controversy came two weeks ago when he posted on his Twitter account a gay slur, insulted followers and questioned the competence of head coach Todd Haley.
He was suspended for two weeks, but Haley said the final decision to cast him aside was not made until early Monday.
“We decided it was in the best interests of the Kansas City Chiefs organization to move forward at this time,” he said.
Behind a poor offensive line this year, Johnson has gained only 2.7 yards per carry for the Chiefs (1-7).
