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Rudi Johnson says he expects to be traded, according to a story in today’s edition of The Cincinnati Enquirer.
"It's out there, so evidently it's true," said Johnson, who’s sat out all of the preseason games with a hamstring injury. "It doesn't bother me one way or the other. I'm still going to do the same thing. It's part of the business."
Johnson is practicing now and says he’ll play in the team’s final preseason game.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis declined to address the Johnson trade rumor, which originally was reported by Chris Mortensen of ESPN. "It really makes no sense for me to confirm or deny anything at any point in time until something is done one way or another with a player," Lewis said.
The story in the Enquirer can be accessed by clicking here.
While it makes sense that the Bengals would want to unload Johnson – he’s an older, declining back with a big salary – it’s harder to envision a deal actually getting done. Who’s going to trade for him? A half dozen teams probably would be interested in signing the veteran to runner to come in as a backup or to compete for a starting job, but probably no team wants him badly enough to cough up anything of value (or to take on his $3.2 million salary).
Possible destinations? Probably Detroit would be No. 1 – give themselves a proven option behind rookie Kevin Smith. Johnson might work his way into a time-share situation and move past Smith later in the year. Lesser (in our eyes) options include Houston, Cleveland, Denver and St. Louis.
Realistically, though, the Bengals are more likely to get rid of Johnson by simply cutting him. And if they feel like they’re set with Chris Perry and Kenny Watson, that’s certainly a possibility.
—Ian Allan
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