From one cat to another, former Bengal finds home in Detroit. And injuries and illnesses have forced the Ravens to start rookie Joe Flacco earlier then expected, but he still needed a back-up.
Rudi Johnson didn’t need long to find a new home.
Johnson, who was waived by the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, officially signed with the Detroit Lions on Tuesday. Johnson will join rookie Kevin Smith as the featured backs in Detroit’s new run-oriented offense.
“As soon as I finish talking to you guys, I’m going to bury myself in the playbook,” Johnson said after meeting with the media Tuesday. “I want to be able to contribute to this team as soon as possible.”
Johnson has missed much of training camp and the preseason with the same hamstring problem that caused him to miss five games last season, but said that he’d be ready for Detroit’s season opener Sunday in Atlanta.
“I’m good — I just have to take care of my hamstring each and every day and stay on top of it,” he said. “My main thing during camp was to make sure I was ready for Week 1.”
Johnson rushed for over 1,400 yards in both 2005 and 2006, but was limited to 497 last year. This season, the Bengals will be going with Chris Perry and Kenny Watson as their top runners.
“The word got out last month that the Bengals were trying to trade me, so I knew this was coming,” he said. “I had a great run in Cincinnati, but now I have to move on.”
Johnson will be reunited with Jon Kitna, who played for Cincinnati before coming to Detroit in 2006, and also has a tight bond with one of the players who will be blocking for him.
“I talked to Jon — he and I are friends from when we were together with the Bengals, and I talked to [Lions guard] George Foster, who is a very good friend of mine,” he said.
In Cincinnati, the Bengals’ star wide receivers, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, opened defenses up for the running game, and Johnson hopes that Detroit’s duo of Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams will do the same thing.
“I’m excited about playing with two great guys on the outside in Roy and Calvin,” he said. “I’m looking forward to that.”
While considering Detroit’s offer, Johnson got some advice from an unlikely source — Tatum Bell, the player he replaced on the Lions roster.
“When we talked, he didn’t know it was going to be him that was going, but Tatum knows this is a business,” Johnson said. “He told me all about the city, the players, the coaching staff and even details like practice times and how things are run here.”
With Bell gone, Johnson will be battling for carries with Smith, Detroit’s third-round pick. He thinks he is still capable of putting up the same numbers that he did in Cincinnati, but isn’t worried about cracking the starting lineup quite yet.
“Right now, I’ve got to get through this playbook,” he said. “After that, it is up to the coaches. I know I can contribute and help this team. The coaches will figure out how to best use me.”
Ravens Find Back-Up For Flacco
Veteran Todd Bouman, one of three veterans to work out for the Ravens Tuesday, accepted a one-year offer to sign with the team, a source said.
Bouman worked out Monday in Baltimore against Chris Simms and Joey Harrington. On Tuesday morning, he was offered a one-year deal at $830,000.
The 36-year-old Bouman will be joining his sixth team. He was an undrafted quarterback when he signed with the Vikings in 1997. He’s been in Minnesota, New Orleans, Green Bay, Jacksonville and St. Louis.
The Ravens named Joe Flacco as the starting quarterback Monday but have injury concerns with Troy Smith and Kyle Boller. Smith has infected tonsils and Boller has a torn labrum in his shoulder and might need surgery.
“This is what I wanted all along,” Flacco said Monday. “Things happen funny. I’ve gotten my opportunity, and now it’s up to me to go out there and play.”
After two preseason games, Harbaugh essentially eliminated Flacco in what began as a three-way competition to be Baltimore’s starting quarterback. The plan was to start Smith in the third game, against the St. Louis Rams, then take a look at Boller.
But neither Smith nor Boller was available to play against the Rams or in the preseason finale against Atlanta. Flacco started both games and played well enough to maintain the role in the opener.
“If one of you guys wrote this in a movie script, no one would believe it,” Harbaugh said.
Flacco went 35-for-67 for 284 yards and no interceptions during the preseason. His quarterback rating was better than that of Boller or Smith, and he threw Baltimore’s lone touchdown pass.
Credit: ESPN/AP
