Chiefs officials say Johnson trade talk rumors untrue
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The
Kansas City Chiefs quickly dispelled rumors they are shopping Pro Bowl running back
Larry Johnson before this weekend's NFL draft.
Team spokesman Bob Moore said Thursday the Chiefs have not offered Johnson to anybody and that no team has been given permission to speak with him.
Larry Johnson
Running Back
Kansas City Chiefs
Profile2006 SEASON STATISTICSRushYdsTDRecYdsTD416178917414102
"Anybody who is reporting it's true is simply not telling the truth," Moore said.
Johnson, 27, has been participating in the Chiefs' offseason program, but is entering the final year of his contract. He has made it clear he wants a deal worth more than the eight-year, $60 million contract
San Diego Chargers running back
LaDainian Tomlinson signed two years ago.
Rumors that Kansas City wants to trade the brooding back, who carried the ball an NFL-record 416 times last season, surfaced as the team scrambles to acquire draft picks. The Kansas City Star, without citing a source, reported Thursday that the team had offered Johnson up for trade.
Johnson's agent, Alvin Keels, said Thursday he preferred not to comment.
Kansas City unloaded return specialist
Dante Hall to the St. Louis Rams for a fifth-round pick Wednesday, falling in line with coach Herm Edwards' desire for a more youthful roster built via the draft.
"When you have a veteran football team, that's very, very good," Edwards said recently. "But at the end of the day, you have to acquire young players along the way."
The Chiefs invited four running backs -- California's Marshawn Lynch, Ohio State's Antonio Pittman, Florida State's Lorenzo Booker and Louisville's Kolby Smith -- for interviews, and have said they are willing to draft a running back in the early rounds.
Trading Johnson would make sense to those who view the Chiefs as undertaking a major rebuilding effort.
Kansas City is poised to start the season with untested second-year quarterback
Brodie Croyle and journeyman
Damon Huard, who played well last season when
Trent Green missed parts of eight games with a concussion.
The offensive line is full of holes, after the retirement of 11-time Pro Bowl tackle
Willie Roaf last season and 12-time Pro Bowl guard
Will Shields earlier this month. The wide receiving corps has little depth behind aging
Eddie Kennison, and defensive tackle and defensive back remain areas of concern.
Johnson's value has never been higher, either. After rushing for 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2005, he gained 1,789 yards and had 17 touchdowns last season. His 2,199 yards from scrimmage accounted for 43 percent of the Chiefs' total offense.
"He's still a guy in his prime," said former
Houston Texans general manager Charley Casserly, who believes the Chiefs will sign Johnson to a contract extension. "I don't know what they could get to replace him. Certainly a draft choice isn't going to replace him."
Another way the Chiefs could acquire more draft picks is by dealing Green, the two-time Pro Bowl selection who returned from his concussion midway through last season but never played at the same level.
The
Miami Dolphins have reached a tentative agreement with Green, who will be 37 when training camp opens. But the teams have not agreed on compensation, and it is becoming increasingly unlikely a trade will be done by the start of the draft.
The Chiefs are seeking a second-round pick and a late-round pick for Green.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
