LARRY JOHNSON SIGNS WITH THE BENGALS: Former Kansas City Chief will be a fourth string backup to Cedric Benson. Local gay rights groups already upset. Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson signed a one-year contract Tuesday morning with the Cincinnati Bengals to serve as a fourth-string backup behind starter Cedric Benson. Because NFL veteran contracts are guaranteed at the start of the regular season, Johnson will pocket $4 million from the Chiefs and earn an additional $255,290 from the Bengals, the veteran minimum for the remainder of this season, reports ESPN.com. During a face-to-face meeting on Monday, Coach Marvin Lewis told Johnson that he would be fourth on the team’s depth chart at running back. Benson, who strained a hip muscle in Sunday’s win in Pittsburgh that left the Bengals (7-2) in control of the AFC North, is expected to practice on a limited basis this week. Lewis said there’s a chance he could play Sunday in Oakland. The Chiefs released Johnson last Monday, the day he was due back from his second (two-week) suspension in the past 12 months. His last brush with controversy occurred two weeks ago, when he questioned the competence of Chiefs coach Todd Haley, and used gay slurs to describe a locker room reporter and a follower on his Twitter account. TMZ.com spoke with Lesley Jones, executive director of Equality Cincinnati, who said of Johnson’s signing, “We do not think that would be a favorable decision on the part of the Bengals. We would see this as a slap in the face to all the work we’ve done for equality and LBGT (lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender) rights in Cincinnati. [The Bengals] must take action to prove that they support equality and LBGT rights in the city.”
