Redskins added a second RB by signing Larry Johnson

Now the Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis will face competition from newly-signed running back Larry Johnson, who signed a three-year, incentive-laden contract with the Redskins on Friday night. The base value of the deal is $3.5 million and the maximum is $12 million if Johnson manages to reach the incentives.

With Johnson joining Portis, the Redskins will have an intriguing backfield dynamic under new coach Mike Shanahan. 30-year-old Johnson and 28-year-old Portis are similar in at least three things: they both have been to Pro Bowl game for twice, both need to show some sort of resurgence rather than a steady decline toward retirement, and both have been known to get in trouble for saying too much.

Johnson had his last season split between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals. Being released by the Chiefs in November, he finished the last season with the Bengals, the first team he played for since putting on Chiefs jersey as a first-round draft pick in 2003. His 6 1/2 years in Kansas City were full of off-the-field problems and he was suspended twice during the last 12 months with the Chiefs. Then, after posting a gay slur on his Twitter page, he was released by the Chiefs.

Johnson’s best on-field performance came in 2005 season and 2006 season when he had back-to-back 1,750-yard seasons. The overall numbers for his career include 6,219 yards and 55 touchdowns on 1,421 carries over eight NFL seasons, plus 154 catches for 1,373 yards and six TDs.

Redskins RB Portis said he would return

Despite being placed on IR and ending the season early with a concussion, the Washington Redskins running back Portis believes that he will return soon or later as long as he can play in 100 percent again. And a concussion is definitely not career ending.

Portis appeared at a charity event Tuesday, in suit instead of Redskins jersey, and was asked about remarks he made last week, when he sounded as if he could be contemplating the end of his career. His reply “I don’t think for one second this could be career ending” showed that he was confident about his returning to the NFL.

He explained that what he said a week ago was just about a possible end of his career with the Redskins, a team that is currently 4-9 and in need of big changes. Losing Portis to a concussion was just another big blow to the team’s defense.