Category — Kansas City Chiefs

Just when Larry Johnson began to have some success on the field, it looks now as if he’ll be making an early exit. What was originally reported to be a minor foot sprain now appears to be a much more serious fracture, something that could send him to the sideline for the remainder of the season (while putting the Chiefs’ playoff hopes in serious doubt). The report comes from a Denver news station which cites team sources.

Keep in mind, however, this is still in its rumor stages. Team officials, including head coach Herm Edwards, have not been negative to this point. Tuesday he said that while Johnson will miss week 10 and perhaps additional time, though he didn’t make the suggestion that his running back’s season could be over. Incidentally, the same report also said Johnson was to receive further testing in the near future.

Before the season started, you probably assumed that the AFC West would shake down something like this: San Diego in first place, followed (in order) by Denver, Kansas City, and Oakland. Fast forward to today, four weeks into the season, and you probably have a hard time believing the Raiders, Broncos, and Chiefs are in a three way tie for first place while the Chargers are coming apart at the seams, dropping their past three games, two of which they were heavy favorites.

So what happened? Why the shift in dominance?

Looking at San Diego, it seems obvious that the coaching change from Marty “can’t win in the postseason” Schottenheimer to Norv “can’t win any time of the year” Turner was a bad move. It was criticized the day it was announced and things are only going to get worse unless the Chargers salvage the season and go on a tear to make the playoffs. Unlikely.

Did you have the first pick of your fantasy draft? Or the second? Or the third or fourth? Chances are, you considered yourself lucky. In fact, I’m guessing that if you had the first pick, you wasted no time sending in your pick. You probably didn’t flinch and you probably figured you had the safest investment in your draft.

“LT.”

You didn’t need to accompany it with anything else. Who was going to question that decision? Every pundit with a pen or laptop told you that there was no way you could consider selecting anyone else. After all, how often do 31-touchdown seasons occur among running backs?

Finally.

After nearly a month of holding out, Larry Johnson has signed a five year extension that will lock him up as a Chief through 2012. The deal will effectively earn him $45 million over the next six years. For those of you doing the math, that’s about $7.5 million per year, though he’ll earn $27.7 million over the first three years (just under $9 million per year) of the deal and $19 million is guaranteed.

I can’t express enough how wise the Chiefs are to make this deal happen. Larry Johnson is the central part of that offense, especially with the departure of Trent Green. He’s the team’s workhorse back and his presence is worth wins to Kansas City. Imagine the team limping through 2007 without Johnson and an inexperienced quarterback.

With the problems presented by Larry Johnson’s holdout and potential sit-out for the upcoming season, at least the Kansas City Chiefs have a backup plan: go back to Priest Holmes.

Despite having suffered what many believed to be a career ending injury in 2005 — which paved the way for Larry Johnson’s stardom — Holmes is ready to see playing time again. And big checks.

“Somebody has to get the money,” he said. “Hey, if L.J. wants to leave the money out there, guess I’m going to take it. If he wants to come get it, it’s rightfully his to take. He’s earned it. But if he chooses not to come back, well, somebody has to take it. Why won’t it be me?”

Can someone please explain to me how it is that Larry Johnson is being passed over in fantasy drafts in favor of the likes of Joseph Addai, Frank Gore, and others? How is it that a running back who finished number two overall in fantasy points each of the past two seasons is being ignored by the number two fantasy pick in most drafts and sometimes the number three pick?

Let’s take a look at the three primary arguments against drafting Johnson:

The NFL’s rumor mill continues to churn some juicy Larry Johnson rumors. The most recent of these comes from a local Milwaukee news station whose sports anchor was “told by an NFL source that the Packers are keeping a very close eye on the Larry Johnson situation in Kansas City.”

Obviously, this is still just a rumor and evidence suggesting the Chiefs would like to trade Johnson is hard to find. But with the Packers hoping to contend with the Bears, Vikings, and Lions for the division title, it wouldn’t be surprising if they sent in an offer.

With plenty of available cap space the Packers could easily afford Johnson’s new contract (which will rank among the most lucrative among his peers), which is currently the source of his grief with the Chiefs and the greatest obstacle in the way of many hopeful teams.

The worst-case scenario discussed back in May 2nd is taking form. Kansas City’s Larry Johnson told Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star in a revealing interview that he is prepared for a holdout — a long-term holdout.

“I’m prepared,” said Johnson. “They (my agent and father) got me saving money. I’m hustling to get more money to put in the bank. They already started setting aside different accounts, if that would have to happen.”

It’s a scary scenario for the Chiefs, a team struggling to stay under the salary cap, especially considering that they will need to jack Johnson’s salary way up from the miniscule $1.7 million he’s set to receive this season. Johnson deserves much more; in fact, he deserves to be paid more than any other rusher in the league for two reasons.

It may have taken three months of negotiations, but quarterback Trent Green has officially been traded to the Miami Dolphins and will join the team pending the results of a routine physical. A team starving for offense, the Dolphins are welcoming Green with open arms. And Green probably couldn’t be happier, either.

By now the national consensus is that running back LaDainian Tomlinson is the best overall fantasy football player. And why not assume that? After a record breaking season in 2006, Tomlinson remains in the prime of his career. But it’s time owners look to number two overall and consider the available options.