PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 12, 2010
REDSKINS SIGN LARRY JOHNSON
LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA – The Washington Redskins announced today that they have signed running back Larry Johnson. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In eight NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2003-09) and the Cincinnati Bengals (2009), Johnson has played in 82 career games with 55 starts. The two-time Pro Bowler has totaled 6,219 career rushing yards and 55 touchdowns on 1,421 carries (4.4 avg.) and 154 career receptions for 1,373 yards (8.9 avg.) and six touchdowns.
“We are excited to bring in a running back that has had so much success in this league,” Redskins Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan said. “Larry is a physical runner who will be a great addition to our backfield.”
Johnson, 30, ranks second all-time in Chiefs’ franchise history in rushing yards (6,015) and rushing touchdowns (55). He owns the franchise record in 100-yard rushing games (30) and rushing attempts (1,375).
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound, Johnson was a Pro Bowl selection in 2005 and 2006 when he became just the third running back in NFL history to produce 1,750 or more rushing yards in consecutive seasons. Johnson also earned Associated Press First-Team All-Pro honors in 2006.
Johnson owns the top two single-season rushing totals in Chiefs franchise history with 1,789 rushing yards in 2006 and 1,750 in 2005. His 1,789 rushing yards were a career high and his 416 rushing attempts that year marked an NFL single-season record. In addition, Johnson has three of the top five single-game rushing marks in Chiefs history, including a 211-yard rushing performance at Houston on Nov. 20, 2005. In 2005, Johnson rushed for 1,750on 336 carries (5.2 avg.) despite only starting in nine games with Kansas City.
Under Shanahan from 1995-2008, the Denver Broncos had 11 individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons, a total that tied for the third-most in the league during that span and one that includes an NFL-record four-year streak of having a different 1,000-yard rusher from 2003-06. Under Shanahan, the Broncos ranked among the NFL’s top five in rushing during 10 of his 14 seasons, and 16 different running backs posted at least one 100-yard rushing game in the regular season or playoffs, a total higher than any other team in the NFL since 1995.
Johnson originally entered the NFL as a first-round draft choice (No. 27 overall) in 2003 out of Penn State. He finished his collegiate career as the Nittany Lions’ fifth all-time leading rusher with 2,953 yards on 460 carries, including 26 touchdowns. A native of State College, Pa., Johnson was born Nov. 19, 1979.