Former Chiefs Running Back Larry Johnson Signs WIth Bengals

One week after his release, former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson signed a Cincinnati-Bengals-Examiner~y2009m11d17-Former-Kansas-City-Chiefs-running-back-Larry-Johnson-signs-oneyear-deal-with-Cincinnati-Bengals" title="one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals">one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. He visited with the team on Monday and signed a one-year deal on Tuesday.

Johnson was released from the Chiefs after another run-in of trouble. This time, he recorded gay slurs and questioned head coach Todd Haley's ability to lead the team on his Twitter account. He was eventually suspended for two weeks before his release.

Despite being the go-to guy with the Chiefs, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has  made it clear that Cedric Benson's starting job at running back is not in jeopardy, even with the recent hip strain.

"That's what his role would be, it would be as a fourth running back and an opportunity as a backup player on this football team doing all the things backup players do, and that's work their tails off in the kicking game and showing looks (on the scout team) and so forth that way," Lewis said. "And then he would be an insurance policy if something would happen down the line to one of our guys where he'd have a chance to be active.

"But I couldn't foresee him being active when he was initially here, if this is what happens. And that's what I've told him."

Despite his recent troubles with the Chiefs, signing Johnson is an excellent move by the Bengals front office considering the potential of another threat at running back.

In 2005, Johnson emerged as an elite running back when former running back Priest Holmes suffered an injury to his spinal cord in a game against the San Diego Chargers during Week Seven. As the new starter at running back for the remaining nine games, Johnson ran for at least 100 yards in each game.

Overall, he finished the season with 1,750 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns, earning him the starting job for the Chiefs the following season.

Since Johnson was able to rush for 1,750 yards the season before after starting just nine games, the expectations were high for him in his first full-year as a starter.

He lived up to the hype, rushing for 1,789 yards and 17 touchdowns for the Chiefs, who finished 9-7 on the year and clinched a wild-card berth for a first-round matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

Despite losing 23-8 to the Colts, the Chiefs were satisfied with the type of running back Johnson was emerging into. In his first two seasons as a full-time starter, he recorded 4,292 from the line of scrimmage and 40 touchdowns.

However, most of Johnson's production may have resulted from a dominant offensive line, which consisted of two Pro-Bowl guards in 2006 with Will Shields and Brian Waters.

After emerging as one of the top running backs in the league from 2005-06, Johnson's numbers have declined each season.

In 2007, a foot injury in the second half of the season limited him to playing in just eight games, rushing for just 559 yards and three touchdowns. The following season, he played in just 12 games, finishing with 874 yards and just five touchdowns.

Many claim the reason behind Johnson's decline in production the past two seasons is because of a weak offensive line. If this is the case, he may have a chance to revamp his career behind a strong Bengals offensive line ranked sixth overall in the NFL, who have allowed just 14 sacks in nine games. They have also helped lead the way for Benson, who is averaging 95.4 yards per game on the ground and found the end zone six times.

With the Chiefs having the 31st-ranked offensive line, Johnson averaged just 2.7 yards per carry. In seven games this season, he's run for 377 yards and zero touchdowns.

The Bengals were already dangerous with one elite running back. If they can turn Johnson into the type of running back from a few years ago with a fresh start and improved offensive line, this team has the potential to become one of the top running games in the NFL.

Dan Parzych is the Cincinnati Bengals Examiner for Examiner.com

He is also the founder of WhoDeyBengals.com