The Cincinnati Bengals have released veteran defensive tackle Tank Johnson.
Whether Johnson is done in the NFL remains to be seen. The eight-year veteran more or less announced his situation on Twitter last night, according to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
“Left my momma 11 years ago and said momma I’m goin to play football! Been gone every since. Momma I’m comin home,” Johnson wrote.
A former second-round draft pick by the Chicago Bears, Johnson joined the Bengals in 2009 and signed a three-year contract last season. A knee injury derailed him and Cincinnati determined it was time to move on. He was due to earn $2.25 million.
Johnson drew national attention as a member of the Bears in 2006 when a SWAT team raided his home in Gurnee, Ill., in search of weapons. The Bears ordered him to kick a man who was living in his home out as the team deemed him a negative influence. Johnson was with the man – William Posey – at a Chicago nightclub when Posey was shot dead.
Another former Bear who had great potential but wasted it. We drafted him in the second the same year we drafted Tommie Harris #1 and these guys should have been our inside pass rush for a decade. But Tommie's injuries limited him and Tank's lifestyle did him in and now their both nearly out of football. I remember that Johnson was cat quick and even faster than Harris in the 40 when he was drafted. The Bears gave him his chances but he just couldn't straighten his life out.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap.
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
Maybe Tank should get in touch with John Elway. Looks like the Broncos will have an opening at DT.
Broncos’ Warren has torn triceps, out indefinitely
By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Pro Football Writer Aug 16, 5:50 pm EDT
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP)—Plugging the gaping hole at defensive tackle has proven to be the Denver Broncos’ biggest bugaboo.
The draft was deep in run-stuffers but the Broncos bypassed them all, choosing instead to select the best pass-rusher in Von Miller(notes) with the second overall pick and electing to pick up a few more beefy bodies in free agency. Their wallets weren’t thick enough to lure the marquee names in the frenzied days after the lockout ended. But they liked their luck when Ty Warren(notes) was cut by New England.
The Broncos made the former Patriots star interior lineman the centerpiece of their free agent class by signing him to a two-year, $8 million deal that included a $2.5 million bonus and $1.5 million salary for 2011. They also re-signed their own free agent defensive tackle, Marcus Thomas, at $1 million for one year. Both were injured within five minutes of each other when they lined up with the first-team defense during a 9-on-7 drill Monday.
Thomas (strained pectoral) and Warren (torn triceps) won’t be back on the field anytime soon.
Thomas’ chest muscle wasn’t completely torn off the bone like Elvis Dumervil’s(notes) was when he suffered a season-ending injury early in last summer’s training camp. So, the Broncos are hoping he’ll be ready to play by the time their season starts Sept. 12. Warren is out indefinitely. The Broncos are hoping he won’t need surgery and can return to the field at some point this season, although that would mean going with a 52-man roster for a while.
“Well, injuries are part of the deal, especially in camp,” coach John Fox said. “We have a next-man-up philosophy, so Bunk (Brodrick Bunkley(notes)) and Kevin Vickerson(notes), they’ll get an opportunity, along with some others, and we’ll just take it day to day.”
Thomas was starting in both the base and nickel defenses and Warren was the Broncos’ biggest, most accomplished defensive tackle in the rotation.
“Those are two vital pieces that were going to be a part of this defense,”Vickerson said. “We can’t think about it. We’ve just got to keep on keeping on, and the next guy has got to be ready. That’s why you can’t have any weaknesses in your depth chart and you can’t have anybody getting lax.”
Warren, 30, missed all of last season with a hip injury and a surgery to repair his torn triceps could threaten not only his season but his career.
Warren was especially excited for the Broncos’ preseason opener at Dallas last week. “I knew he was fired up and showed a lot of emotion because he got back on the field after a year off,” Vickerson said. “I know it’s kind of messing with him a little bit just because he’s going through an injury like this, but hopefully it’s not a season-ending injury and he can come back soon.”
In other news, the Broncos released running back LenDale White(notes). The former USC star never had the chance to play for his hometown team. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the final preseason game last year and missed the entire season. He ran for 10 yards on four carries in the Broncos’ preseason opener but hadn’t been on the practice field enough to compete for a roster spot.
“It’s just a tough injury for any NFL player to overcome, especially at running back, through a lockout. We couldn’t supervise anything,” general manager Brian Xanders said.
White’s chances were also hurt when back spasms sidelined him for several days early in camp.“We want all of our guys to compete 100 percent during practice,” Xanders said. Likely factoring into the move was the impressive play of Jeremiah Johnson(notes),a second-year pro from Oregon who looks to be in line to back up Knowshon Moreno(notes)and Willis McGahee(notes) in the Broncos backfield.
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The Cincinnati Bengals have released veteran defensive tackle Tank Johnson.
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