MUST BE DREAMING: TEMPLE IS 9-2?
The Chiefs cut Johnson - who was 75 yards short of breaking the team rushing record - 2 weeks after he posted a gay slur on Twitter, insulted fans and questioned the competence of coach Todd Haley.
Any team that Johnson signs with would have to reimburse that Chiefs the $2.1 million balance remaining on his contract.
There also was speculation that Pittsburgh might be interested in Johnson, although Haley's father, Dick, was once an executive with the Steelers.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told the Associated Press yesterday that he didn't want to discuss the matter.
"I don't discuss free agents," Tomlin said a few hours after the Steelers returned from their 28-10 victory in Denver on Monday night. "That opens a Pandora's box. I tend to focus on the guys that are in our locker room."
The Steelers have long stayed away from signing troubled players, and they appear to be set at running back with starter Rashard Mendenhall and backup Willie Parker.
Tomlin made similar comments when quarterback Michael Vick was on the market last summer. The Steelers had no interest in Vick.
Johnson played at Penn State and thought he was going to be drafted by Pittsburgh in 2003, but the Steelers traded with Kansas City to move up in the first round and take safety Troy Polamalu. Kansas City chose Johnson with the pick that was to have been Pittsburgh's, with the running back clearly upset he didn't go to the Steelers.
The Kansas City Star reported that Johnson, making his first comments on the situation since his release, told the Dan Patrick radio show that he felt it was time to move on.
"I just felt like I gave Kansas City all that I had as far as being on the field and being upbeat," Johnson said. "It was just time."
The 29-year-old Johnson left the Chiefs just 75 yards shy of breaking Priest Holmes' team rushing record of 6,070 yards.
Prior to his release fans had created an online petition asking the Chiefs to ensure that Johnson not get the opportunity to break the record.
"They had to save the organization from having me being at the top of that list," Johnson said. "And having me be the example of, all right, this is who's at the top of our rushing list and as far as the history of Kansas City. They did the right thing to protect that and have a great guy in Priest Holmes still be that guy.
"Hopefully, maybe someday, when I'm 33, 34, and I've still got a little bit of burn left, they'll let me come back and get those yards."
* Cleveland linebacker Eric Barton will miss the rest of the season with an unspecified injury. The Browns did not reveal his injury or a timetable for their leading tackler's recovery.
Head coach Eric Mangini would not comment during the team's bye week about reports that Barton had a bulging disk in his neck and may need surgery.
* Seattle added defensive end Derek Walker to its active roster and released wide receiver Mike Hass.
Walker made Seattle's Opening Day roster out of training camp, but was inactive in his only game this season on the active roster. He was released and signed to the practice squad on Sept. 15.
* New England signed linebacker Thomas Williams to the practice squad.
The club said in a statement that Williams joins the eight-man practice squad after cornerback Kyle Arrington was promoted to the 53-man roster over the weekend.
The 6-1, 237 pound Williams was originally a fifth-round draft pick by Jacksonville out of USC in 2008. He appeared in six games for the Jaguars as a rookie.
Williams was waived by Jacksonville before the start of the season and spent time on the Seattle and Houston practice squads.
* A Nashville, Tenn., judge has authorized the widow of retired NFL player Steve McNair to sell the restaurant he opened shortly before he was shot and killed.
According to court records, a potential buyer has come forward. The judge denied an appeal by one of Steve McNair's business partners.
The quarterback, who spent most of his career with the Tennessee Titans, was shot to death July 4 by a young woman, who then killed herself.
