All indications were pointing to Clinton Portis brining his talents back to South Beach where he played his college career.
The Dolphins just cut Kory Sheets and reportedly worked out Portis this morning. Instead, a curveball was in order, which always seems to be the case with this regime.
The Dolphins have officially signed Larry Johnson. The same Larry Johnson that combined for 3,539 yards and 37 touchdowns in only two seasons from 2005-2006.
Okay, so not exactly the same guy. Same person, yes. But not the same running back.
Johnson is now 31, hasn’t played a full 16-game season since 2006, his last decent year was 2008 (874 rushing yards, 5 TD’s), and he only carried the ball twice for five yards in two appearances last season for the Redskins.
All things considered, I would have preferred Clinton Portis, who is nearly two years younger and probably has a little more left in the tank.
But I’m not going to complain too much here with Johnson. The Dolphins needed another capable workhorse as insurance for Daniel Thomas and Reggie Bush. The former is still a question mark as a rookie and the latter is injury prone.
Who knows if Larry Johnson can still be a capable workhorse at his age, but if he can somehow find fresh legs he’ll be a nice addition in Miami.
If not, he won’t make the team. Simply put, this is a low-risk, high-reward signing for the Dolphins.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
