But this also creates a tough decision for active game day. Benson may sit this game, and that would allow L. Johnson to play. But idk what they will do after.

Sign Johnson and release who? Unless Benson’s injury is more severe than expected, I don’t see the logic. I suppose Kooistra? Coats? I don’t want us to thin ourselves out at another position for Larry Johnson. I understand financially he’s cheap (meaning Johnson and Mike Brown) which makes it a nice marriage.

Maybe if we spread the rumor that Mike Brown is gay, Johnson won’t want to play for the Bengals.

just when critics (and fans?) are starting to praise mike brown.

Hopefully this one works out as well as Benson.

But I kinda like it. Mike Brown loves to sign guys that are looking for a second chance cheap. We’re signing him at the minimum. What do we have to lose? We can take Fui or Koistra off the active roster for 2 weeks and it’s not going to be a big deal. If Benson ends up not being able to play for a few weeks this could be huge.

Think about it. Even if Benson can play the next few weeks we can do a LJ/Scott combo on 1st and 2nd downs and bring Leonard in on 3rd downs. This allows Benson to rest for the playoffs. It’s not like we’re giving LJ a huge contract. It’s the MINIMUM. There’s no risk to this move. If he doesn’t work out we can cut him. Stop getting your panties in a bunch of knots.

He should be a solid compliment to Benson.

They won’t keep all 4. They would be idiots do cut or even deactivate Scott or Leonard. My bet is that Fui gets gut and Benson is deactivated for the next 3 weeks. That will be a decent amount of time to let Benson heal up and see what they have in Johnson.

Hey guys. We’re going to keep posting updates on this post. So refresh often. :)

I feel sorry for you guys if you sign him I really do…
Just hope that he can earn a new nickname over there b/c he will forever be known as 2.7 in KC

No you MOTHERF**KER, it was not. You can say that bullshit to people who didn’t follow you in KC, but you can’t to people that are well aware of you and your game. You are a joke of player and piss-poor human being.

GFY, Larry.

That goes for Mike Brown as well for even thinking this is somehow a good idea.

He’s go tired legs and a shitty attitude.

We don’t need either of them. Benard Scott and Brian Leonard showed everyone they are willing and ABLE to get the job done.

This takes some of the enjoyment out of the Steelers Sweep.

I’d like to see Marvin Lewis go into Mike Brown’s office and say no. If you sign that POS, fire me.

not sure how i feel about it.

and look what happened to him. same with cedric benson. to be honest, i had the same reaction as you detractors about an hour ago but now that i think about it, it might not be so bad.

who honestly thinks he’s going to come to cincinnati and go, “WHAT’S UP MARVIN, YOU FAG!”???

he’s going to keep his mouth shut, do what he’s told, and carry the ball 15-20 times a game for us. remember one thing—we play the chiefs in two weeks and you can bet he’s going to want to have a great game against them. i don’t think we need to rush to judgment here… let’s just see what happens.

Start a petition like we did to get the Chiefs to cut his sorry ass to not sign him!

Updates are coming through now. Lewis is saying that Larry Johnson is ONLY here for a visit and would ONLY be for an insurance policy. This signing would have NO affect on Leonard or Scott and if our core three guys are healthy, LJ would be inactive.

Make sure you keep refreshing this post. We’re updating things we learn on the front page.

He is all yours!! Trucker hat and pink swatch included no charge!

Tell Ced Benson why they’re doing this.

#2.

Have Marvin in the negotiating room to tell him EXACTLY what’s up.

#3.

If Marvin so much as doesn’t like how he’s sitting in the film room, cut him.

Easy peazy lemon squeezy.

Big boom, little chance of bust here the more I think about it. Vet minimum signing for a player than can be a great asset over the next two weeks. Could also help us gameplan against SD.

and has been for 2 years. Our nickname for him over at Arrowhead Pride is “2.7” cause that is what he averages.

He always has been a bum. The only reason he had those 2 good years was because he was running behind one of the best offensive lines of all time. They wouls spring hima nd he was big enough to break a couple of tackles.

Now he is slow. Usually goes down on the first hit. He doesn’t break tackles anymore. He can’t catch. His blocking improved this year but he has been historically terrible at it and I would not trust Plamers well being to LJ.

On top of all that he is a big, giant moron. I hope you guys don’t actually sign him. there are plenty of washed up, old runnin gbacks out there who aren’t huge distractions.

Good win over Pittsburgh yesterday! I’m happy for you guys. Gives us chief fans hope.

I for one am rooting for you.

if it aint, dumb move. But i hope he proves everybody wrong just as Benson did

The Bengals claim that if they sign Johnson, he’ll be the fourth running back and he’ll be an insurance policy. If the contract is a minimum deal, does all of that change any of your guy’s opinion? At least from “hell, no”, to “what’s the worst that could happen.” And yes, I’m very much aware of the lockerroom dynamics that could be at work here.

And thanks to the Chiefs fans for jumping over and providing your guys perspectives.

want to hear what Benson has to say about it.

I think you guys will appreciate this link. Larry’s finest moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVO93amUv7Y

…of taking players that were either kicked off or undrafted by the respectable teams in the league. Of course this made a laughing stock for years…but somehow we are turning it around and making it work for us. Give us your tired, your poor, your gun toting drunken idiots, your homophobes….

Like I said before, there is no financial risk here and at best we are loading up for a playoff run, which makes sense. Is he the best option? I dunno. What’s Warrick Dunn up to these days? Deuce McAllister anyone?

I’ll reiterate my primary concern.. who do we cut? And if LJ is inactive, do we have to also deactivate his twitter account to stop him from twittering “Being inactive is so gay!”

…particularly if we meet the Steelers again in the playoffs.

http://www.facebook.com/klondike

Who’s to say the Bengals aren’t just doing their homework on him? If Benson is hurt, they need to know their RB prospects.

With 3 AFC West contests remaining, his knowledge of the division could prove worthy of 7 games at the NFL minimum.

I don’t know how things are in Philly, but after a few weeks passed, very little national spotlight is on the Iggles for signing Michael Vick (hell, the Bengals weren’t afraid to sign him either.) Something even more despicable can and will happen, and the spotlight quickly moves on.

For every Tweet, crime, or DUI there’s always another one that quickly follows. IMO, Larry Johnson has played uninspired football the past 2 seasons. Given the Chiefs unfortunate run and rebuilding effort, Mr. Scary Larry has to be chomping at the bit to join a team that’s 7-2 and 5-0 in the division (damn it feels good to say that).

Even if they don’t sign him, our running game will be fine. Let Fui Vakapuna hammer it in btwn the tackles for a few weeks.

Either way, if he’s not playing, who cares? He’s a good 4th RB to have.

http://cnati.com/cincinnati-bengals/johnson-to-visit-bengals-hasnt-signed-00728/

Picking up LJ solely for the sake of gaining some insight into some of the AFC West teams would definitely be a shrewd move, but I don’t think he’s going to be worth it. Ultimately I trust that Lewis will make a good decision, but it seems to me that LJ is not going to want to be the 4th string running back, and if he is unhappy, then he is going to cause a lot of trouble.

Benson was different because he came in here with a shot to be the #1 guy, but LJ is not going to have that option. Bottom line is that he is not going to be happy and given his situation, that doesn’t bode well for us.

I don’t think you really need to worry about him disrupting the locker room chemistry, he’s always been pretty much a loner…not talking to anyone.

His biggest problem seems to be that he’s lost what speed he ever had, and doesn’t run hard like he used to. Yes, he used to have a great OL and that contributed a lot, but he was also a beast after going through the line…he’d stiff arm DBs who got in his way & generally run them over. We haven’t seen that in a while now.

I really don’t think he’d be a problem this season…maybe next year if he signs a longer contract.

We already had one cursed Penn State running back…..

Jaworski likes the move. Check out this video

Bengals wouldn’t bring him in to be the “4th” RB. They would bring in “Dede” for that. B Scott will take Leonards reps and LJ wld spell Ced

the Bengals rarely get a shot at even a playoff berth. If i’m the Bengals, and i’m committed to rolling the dice on winning the whole damn thing, i’m getting my hands on as much as talent as humanly possible.

The 2009 Bengal offense is bulit around the power run game, if you have a shot to get a ProBowl talented power runner for the price of a CFL transfer, you do it.

Save the team chemistry posts, this team brought back Chris Henry, drafted Bernard Scott, signed Tank Johnson, signed Cedric Benson, made an offer to Michael Vick……you’re absolutely crazy if you think this team cares about reputation or “locker room chemistry.”

Right now, they’ve pretty much locked up the division, and have a relatively easy remaining schedule.

This is a rare opportunity to go deep in the playoffs for one Mike Brown, and you better believe with the playoffs looming large, he’s at his Redeeming finest right now.

I agree wholeheartedly:

“You’d think that now that the ship is sailing smoothly, they wouldn’t want to mess with it, especially for a guy expected to be a situational player. The locker room seems united and harmonious. Much of the criminal element is gone, and what remains seems to have fallen in line. Why bring in a potential distraction now? Why bother with a guy who has recent and serious transgressions?”

More here.

an insurance policy in the case of anything happening to the other backs. Something else to consider here. We are in this position(of being able to sign a quality back for very little) because of what has been accomplished with this team. Other teams in the past have signed OUR disgruntled players and won super bowls with them I am not saying that Johnson is going to win a humanitarian award anytime soon, but maybe, just maybe he ends up being a piece in the puzzle that we have become. Let’s not jump to conclusions too soon. Yes he has used some rather derogatory terms in reference to some members of a certain gender group. OK, I am not a fan of bigotry, so he has to own up to that. And no one should be able to better identify with his being upset at losing than we are. That is something I will never criticize a player for. To quote our KY Wildcats former coach some decades past: “You show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser”

TheWalrus1971 wrote:

This is a travesty. Katie Blackburn could have brokered a deal with Weird Al to send Ocho Busto to Oakland for Michael Bush and future draft picks, I’m quite certain. They could have traded with the Giants for Derrick Ward. ANYTHING would be better than this head-case of a draft bust! They shoved a mike in Benson’s face after the Bears took his sorry arse and he CRIED…not because he was deliriously happy to realize his life-long dream of playing in the National Football League…NO! He was crying because of (yeah, you’ve heard the song…sing it with me, boys and girls!) disrespect, "things were said," yada yada yada…

So, the plan clearly should have been to not sign Benson (who’s been an absolute workhorse and model teammate) and trade Chad Johnson (who is having a sensational year with a healthy Palmer) and get MICHAEL BUSH!!! Yes!

Hindsight is 20/20, I realize that. But, this one just stuck out the most to me…

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/10381560/Bengals-close-to-signing-Johnson-as-RB-insurance

Here’s my prediction so years into the future when Kirkendall reminisces about the day we signed Larry Johnson Bengals fans can see what WhoDeyDerek predicted. I predict Larry Johnson will FLOURISH on this team. I also predict that Cedric Benson will be out for 2 weeks minimum.

Between this signing and PK drinking the kool-aid, the wind under my sails has died down a bit.
I said the other day that this was a bad move. Scott and Leonard will fill in nicely in Ced the Pred’s absence, and we could have used Fui as the short yardage back. LJ in my honest opinion brings absolutely nothing to the table. He’s a cancer in the locker room and a shell of the running back he used to be. I also do not think he’s mature enough to be a mentor to our young core of backs in Ced’s absence, either. But I have been wrong before, and MB has a way of turning bad character guys into good ones(See Henry, Chris)
I predict that LJ will not be around next year. He probably will see limited action once Ced returns.

for real, already talking shit that hes gunna run all over us…(chiefs) – guy isnt even 1 day old as a bengal yet and hes already talking shit. have fun bengals fans. you guys made a mistake.

Slim 15 gets hurt, Caldwell has to line up at WR more. Caldwell at WR more, means Scott returns kicks more (and judging by Sunday I like him there). With Scott returning kicks now, he cant be counted on to be a 15+ carry back. Leonard doesnt have that ability either. If Benson is nicked up for any amount of time, this could be a positive move “on the field”. Off the field this could blow up in our faces. I may have drank an inordinate amount of orange kool-aid today, but I trust the leadership structure on this team can maintain the harmony it has built this season.