It’s Larry Johnson’s turn to emerge from a crowded backfield and a troubled past.
The running back will start for the Washington Redskins against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. Rather than have his top three running backs share the job in every preseason game, coach Mike Shanahan plans to feature them one at a time. As a result — with Clinton Portis still the expected starter and Willie Parker and Ryan Torain pressing for carries — Johnson gets one chance to entrench himself as the No. 2.
“I don’t know anybody in football or not in football that comes in and wants to be third best,” Johnson said. “Everybody comes in saying, ‘Hopefully, one day I’ll be that guy.’ Me, Clinton and Willie have all been that guy at one point. We put ourselves on the backburner on what we want personally, but we all want to be a contributing factor.
“I want to get through these preseason games and after that see what my role is. That’s the most important thing — that we all come out here together.”
But there’s another important thing Johnson needs to demonstrate: that his off-field problems in Kansas City, which resulted in a suspension and his release last season, are in the past. So far, Johnson has been a model player. If Portis hadn’t delivered his finest training camp since he arrived in Washington in 2004, then Johnson would have been the standout.
“I hit patches where I hit my stride and cooled down and hit my stride again,” said Johnson, who only had 529 carries in the last three seasons after totaling 416 in 2006. “It worked out for me because I get to come here … and put everything together and keep going.”
Johnson must know this could be his last stop. It’s a chance to return near Southern Maryland, where his father was a standout high school coach before he moved to T.C. Williams and now Penn State. But Johnson also turns 31 on Nov. 19. He signed a three-year deal with Washington in what could be his final NFL stint.
Johnson is spending much more time in the film room and reading the playbook than in past seasons. Turning 30 to a running back is like turning 65 to a bookkeeper — it’s time to eye retirement.
“It was different from Michael Pittman to Terrell Davis to Emmitt Smith,” Johnson said of other older running backs. “You’ll know when you’re satisfied. I’m not satisfied, so I won’t let my body give out on me or my brain give out on me.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
