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| Height: 5-10 Weight: 225 Born: Oct 1, 1979, Petersburg, VA |
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| Player Notes |
| October 9, 2008 Although he has been named the starter, Rudi Johnson is still expected to split time with rookie Kevin Smith, with neither back guaranteed to see a bigger workload, according to MLive.com. Offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said, "They'll split time. Now, who starts, I don't know. We'll decide that at the end of the week. Kevin will probably be in a little more on third downs because Rudi's not as comfortable at that, although he's getting better at that." |
| October 6, 2008 Rudi Johnson has been named the Lions' starting running back, but did not see action until the third offensive series in Sunday's blowout loss to Chicago, and is not pleased with his workload, according to the Detroit Free Press. Johnson said, "The way I'm being used? I haven't really been used. So all I can do is try to get on the field and try to help, try to contribute. Would I like to help? Yes, I would like to contribute." |
| September 29, 2008 Rudi Johnson has been named the Lions' starting running back, demoting rookie Kevin Smith to the second-string, according to Mlive.com. |
| September 23, 2008 Rudi Johnson says he has the Lions playbook down now but isn't sure if he's considered the starter, according to the Detroit Free Press. "It was hard trying to get the playbook down, but I have it now," he said Tuesday. "I couldn't do as much as I wanted until I knew the offense, especially the pass protections. Now I feel like I'm ready to help the team win." Johnson had 131 combined yards in last Sunday's loss to the 49ers. "No one has said anything to me about where I am on the depth chart," Johnson said. "I'm just going to keep practicing hard and trying to do the best I can." |
| September 21, 2008 Rudi Johnson made his first substantial mark on 2008's NFL season on Sunday against the 49ers. He had 14 carries and three catches for a combined 131 yards and a touchdown. |
| September 18, 2008 Lions' offensive coordinator Jim Colletto indicated that Rudi Johnson's hamstring ailment was still an issue when he was scooped up following his release by the Bengals, according to the Detroit Free Press. Colletto added, "Were going to play him more. I think his hamstring now is better. Hes going to play more. As for the playbook, hes up to speed. He can do everything now." |
| September 14, 2008 Rudi Johnson's role was expected to expand in Week 2, but one carry for two yards is probably not what he or fantasy owners had in mind. |
| September 13, 2008 Rudi Johnson's role is expected to expand this week. "He had a good week this week, so we're encouraged that we'll be able to use him more and more," coach Rod Marinelli said in the Detroit News. "Hopefully we're running it and controlling it, and then we can use him." |
| September 5, 2008 MLive.com indicates that Rudi Johnson was not brought in to Detroit to serve as a specialty back (short yardage/goal-line) and will share the workload with rookie Kevin Smith, regardless of who is considered the starter. |
| September 4, 2008 New Lions running back Rudi Johnson will be playing for the Lions Week 1, according to the Detroit Free-Press. |
| September 3, 2008 Rudi Johnson commented on Tatum Bell, who was caught stealing his bags from the Lions' locker room, according to MLive.com. Johnson said, "Bell took Underwear, socks, credit cards and money. He left my money clip with no money in it ($200 was reportedly missing). He should've taken the clip, too. It's quite stupid if you ask me. All of this happened after he got released and came in and got some stuff out of his locker. That's when he scooped the bags up, some real shyster, conniving stuff." |
| September 3, 2008 Rudi Johnson was cut by the Bengals due to a nagging hamstring ailment but he is ready to move on and feels he can power the Lions' running attack, according to the Detroit News. He said, "My role is to learn the playbook. That is what I am here to do. I have to learn the schemes and the terminology." He also claims he's healthy and ready to play in Sunday's season opener against Atlanta, and he added, "I have been monitoring the hamstring to make sure it's ready for when the bullets start flying. I am making sure I am ready for the season opener." |
| September 1, 2008 Rudi Johnson has landed in Detroit after being let go by Cincinnati, according to MLive.com. Terms of the deal are not yet known. Coach Rod Marinelli said, "I just had a chance to watch him in some drills (during a workout) and he's impressive. He's a big, thick guy who has great feet. I played against him over the years so I know he's a very physical back. He's a guy with a lot of talent and a lot of experience." |
| September 1, 2008 Running back Rudi Johnson worked out for Detroit on Monday, and Matt Millen told reporters that the running back "looked fine," according to the Detroit News. However, there are no contract negotiations going on between the team and Johnson at the moment. |
| August 31, 2008 Running back Rudi Johnson is in Detroit. He will take a physical and work out for the Lions on Monday, MLive.com reports. |
| August 31, 2008 Running back Rudi Johnson will visit the Lions on Sunday night, NFL.com reports. |
| August 30, 2008 Following a rumor becoming fact, the agent for Bengals rusher Rudi Johnson says that the team will release the veteran back, according to Pro Football Weekly. Peter Shaffer confirmed Saturday that such a move was in the works, saying, Thats what weve been told. |
| August 30, 2008 Even though he returned to practice last week, the Bengals apparently decided they hadn't seen enough of the new and improved Rudi Johnson this summer and cut the man projected to once be their bell-cow running back in 2008, according to Bengals.com. |
| August 30, 2008 Rumors have run rampant suggesting Rudi Johnson would be traded, but that has not come to fruition. Thus we now hear the Bengals are prepared to cut the former top rusher for their offense, according to Pro Football Talk. |
| August 29, 2008 Bengals running back Rudi Johnson did not play a single snap in the team's preseason contest Thursday, and said he would not be surprised if the team cut him, according to Bengals.com. |
| August 28, 2008 Rudi Johnson failed to appear in the Bengals game with the Colts on Thursday night throwing his role with the club into doubt. |
| August 27, 2008 Bengals running back Rudi Johnson will make his first preseason appearance on Thursday, and he will do it while understanding that this is an opportunity for other teams to take a look at him, as he expects to be traded, according to Sporting News Today. |
| August 26, 2008 Earlier in the day we reported the Bengals are rumored to be shopping veteran rusher Rudi Johnson with hopes of finding an interested trade partner, and that Johnson told reporters he was unaware of any such actions. Tonight we are hearing a different story, both from Johnson and the Bengals, according to the Associated Press. After hearing an ESPN report that the Bengals were interested in trading him for a receiver, Johnson called his agent and had an inkling that he would be moving on. "I could be gone any minute now," the running back said after practice. "I'm just waiting on the call, looking at the clock. That's all. So you know, it is what it is. Nothing's surprising. It's always something every year. They've been trying to get me out of here for a long time now. So it's not surprising at all." |
| August 26, 2008 ESPN reported that Rudi Johnson was being shopped around the league, but Johnson refuted the claim by saying, "I haven't heard anything," according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Public relations director Jack Brennan added, "The Bengals don't comment on speculated player moves." |
| August 25, 2008 Rudi Johnson has been shopped around the league as the Bengals search for help at wide receiver, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN. |
| August 22, 2008 Rudi Johnson, who is dealing with a hamstring ailment, intends to play in the Bengals' last game of the preseason, according to Bengals.com. When asked about head coach Marvin Lewis' statement that Chris Perry would be the starter if the season opened now, Johnson said, "The season doesn't start now." |
| August 20, 2008 Rudi Johnson has been dealing with a hamstring ailment, and Chris Perry has passed him on the Bengals' depth chart as the starting running back, according to the Bengals.com. If the season started today Perry would be the starter. When asked what Johnson would have to do to get his job back, Lewis replied, "I have to see Rudi play and practice, practice, practice and then play." |
| August 19, 2008 Rudi Johnson remained out of practice on Tuesday, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He has been dealing with a right hamstring issue. |
| August 17, 2008 Tailback Rudi Johnson, expected to play tonight against the Lions in the second preseason game, was a late scratch for the Bengals, according to Cincinnati.com. Chris Perry will start in his place. |
| August 13, 2008 Rudi Johnson, who is recovering from a sore hamstring, intends to practice Wednesday night, according to Bengals.com. He missed about two weeks due to the ailment. Johnson stated the hamstring tightened up on him after he went through the heavy running of the first two sets of two-a-day practices during the first week of training camp. He said he brought it back slow because he believes he came back too soon from the hamstring injury he suffered in the third game of the regular season last year. |
| August 11, 2008 Rudi Johnson will not play on Monday night against the Packers because of his sore hamstring, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Kenny Watson will start in his place. |
| August 3, 2008 Rudi Johnson suffered what is being called a "mild hamstring pull" that will keep him out of action for a couple of days, according the Bengals Official Site. |
| July 30, 2008 The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Rudi Johnson has come into camp nearly 20 pounds heavier than a season ago, yet his body fat percentage is down. Johnson worked with Bengals strength and conditioning coaches Chip Morton and Ray Oliver daily in the offseason program and unveiled his larger, sculpted physique this week at training camp. |
| July 18, 2008 The Cincinnati Bengals are planning to run the ball more this season as Rudi Johnson returns to health, according to Pro Football Weekly. |
| July 11, 2008 One of the positive signs from Cincinnati Bengals offseason workouts, per a source close to the club, was that running back Rudi Johnson was back to hitting the hole quickly, according to Pro Football Weekly. |
| June 26, 2008 Rudi Johnson has put on 15 pounds of muscle, and performed well in offseason practices, according to ESPN.com. |
| June 16, 2008 Rudi Johnson is reportedly looking good in practice this week, according to the Dayton Daily News. He is running smooth with solid speed. He is also displaying quick feet, and could be headed for a strong bounce back campaign. |
| June 11, 2008 Cincinnati Bengals running back Rudi Johnson missed five games of the 2007 season due to a nagging hamstring injury. Now that the eight-year veteran is fully recovered, he's champing at the bit to get back on the playing field and make a statement for the Bengals in 2008, according to the Dayton Daily News. |
| June 6, 2008 The Bengals team website is reporting that offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski will us an RBBC this year, led by Rudi Johnson . The report notes that Bratkowski did not reveal how the committee will work. |
| May 28, 2008 Rudi Johnson was back in action on Wednesday's voluntary practice session, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He missed some time the previous week for unknown reasons. |
| April 1, 2008 While reiterating Chad Johnson is staying put and challenging his players "to grow up," head coach Marvin Lewis also stated his offense is going to go back to the basics, according to CincinnatiBengals.com. "This is going to be what's important," Lewis said. "Everybody thinks it's cute to throw the ball around the lot, but you don't win games throwing the ball around the lot." Cincinnati passed the ball 57 percent of the time last season. Its easy to say your team is going to run the ball more, but in reality the Bengals defense probably isnt good enough to keep the team close in games, which often leads to more passing. |
| March 26, 2008 The Cincinnati Bengals want to run the ball effectively in 2008 in order to set up their deep passing game, according to Bengals.com. "I've talked to Marvin Lewis and he wants to run the ball," Rudi Johnson said this week. "He wants to get it back to when we ran at will and then threw it over people's heads. That's just another reason I'm excited at getting back into my grind. We've gotten away from that." Johnson's pulled hamstring in the third week of last season became the symbol of the Bengals offense coming up lame. The Bengals might have put up gaudy passing numbers with T.J. Houshmandzadeh leading the NFL in catches and Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson setting franchise records for passing and receiving yards, but they couldn't score when they needed points and they couldn't take over games for a depleted defense. Johnson, 28, is entering the trailing edge of his prime, but was one of the most consistent backs in fantasy football from 2003-2006. If Johnson can stay healthy throughout the offseason program, he could be an undervalued selection in this years fantasy drafts. |
| February 22, 2008 Rudi Johnson, who had a disappointing 07 campaign while battling a hamstring injury, is expected to come back hungry in 2008 - per HC Marvin Lewis, according to Cincinnati.com. Johnson, who lost weight prior to last season in order to gain speed, has adjusted his diet to gain weight so he can return to the bruising style that was so successful previously. From 2004-06, Johnson started 45 games for the Bengals and posted 1000+ rushing yards in each campaign. Johnson, 28, is a quality back who could return to form making him an undervalued player during 2008 fantasy football drafts. |