Larry Johnson Gets Probation, Possible Pink Slip

Kansas City Chiefs' RB Larry Johnson sure lives a charmed life.   Last year he was charged with assault two separate times for incidents involving booze, women, and KC nightclubs.  Luckily for LJ, the charges were downgraded to disturbing the peace and he gets off with two years of probation.  Whew!  Although the terms of probation won't make him happy:

While on probation, Johnson will not be allowed to consume alcohol or be at any Kansas City bars or nightclubs after 9 p.m. He also must complete anger-control counseling and 40 hours of community service.

No booze for two years?  Damn, that sucks.

But don't worry, Johnson is living a charmed life remember?  He doesn't have to worry about his Kansas City bar ban if he's no longer living in Kansas City!

The Chiefs claim the one-game suspension he received from the NFL last year for violating the league's personal-conduct policy is a breach of his contract and frees them from having to pay the guaranteed money.

The Chiefs and Johnson's agent, Peter Schaffer, declined to answer questions on the matter.

One source familiar with the situation said that should the Chiefs win the grievance, they would probably release Johnson, suggesting the team wouldn't be going through the trouble if they didn't intend to free him from his contract.

How about that?  It appears the new Chiefs braintrust is finished with Larry Johnson.  So that leaves the intriguing Jamaal Charles (357 rush yds on only 67 carries last year) as the RB1, with Kolby Smith getting some work as well.  That's if the Chiefs don't bring in somebody else or draft a starting RB.  I like Jamaal Charles' fantasy value if the Chiefs commit to him as the starter.  The guy has some skills.

As for Johnson, he's the premier fantasy running back still available on the free agent market so he'll see a lot of interest once the draft finishes up.  He'd be the immediate starter in Arizona or Houston.  They could use in him in Denver or New Orleans as well. 

It will be interesting to see which teams are willing to put up with the continuing (some would say chronic) off-the-field problems of a guy who once rushed for 1700+ yds two seasons in a row.