A trip to Cincinatti did wonders for Cedric Benson (until, at least, Week 10’s leg injury – though he’s expected to be back in the lineup for Week 11), helping Benson to revitalize a career that was once thought to be all but over.
Larry Johnson may be hoping for the same type of result as he gets set to join the Bengals - but don’t count on it just yet. The tides have turned in Johnson’s world, pretty rapidly. His once firm position atop the depth chart is gone, he’ll be the 4th RB on the roster in Cincinatti (and therefore inactive on game day), and his once lucrative contract has disappeared, he’s expected to sign for the league minimum.
Don’t rush to add him fantasy owners, file this under the same non-interesting pile as the last QB column I wrote.
One thing I don’t understand: if they’re signing him as a 4th running back, its assumed that they legitemately don’t expect Johnson to make an impact – maybe they just want to get a closer look at him to see if he’ll prove useful this season or next – but I don’t understand why they would allow a potential cancer into their dressing room just to have Johnson on the practice squad. It’s one thing if you have an impact player behaving like a jerk, but another thing to sign a known destructive force as an inactive running back. It would take a lot to kill the momentum in Cincinnati right now, but I can say that I don’t expect him to have a positive impact on chemistry, that’s for sure.