Interesting read by Jason Cole from Yahoo! Sports on why trading Larry Johnson now is the smart move to make. He makes some logical points but in the end, like most of the trading LJ arguments, his comes down to the fact that "overworked" running backs in the NFL don't last. We get a list of the usual suspects in a national Larry Johnson article- Jamaal Anderson, Eddie George, Eric Dickerson. You get the point.
Does anyone think that this statistically insignificant trend will ever be broken? I liken this to the Madden Curse. Yeah there's some circumstantial evidence surrounding it but how much does it truly affect a player? I know that physical abuse is certainly different than a video game curse. Regardless of the forces at play, its a brand new season.
Right now, I'm firmly convinced that Larry Johnson will be another exception to the 400+ 370+ rule. The guy has made a physical commitment to destroying that rule.
Cole's final point is that one more reason to get rid of Larry Johnson is because of his contract demands. For some reason, the national perception is that these contract negotiations are going to be a bloodbath. There is no evidence pointing to that happening. At least not right now.
Keep Larry Johnson. Don't overpay him and create a salary cap issue. The guy could end up being the greatest running back in Chiefs history.