KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -The Kansas City Chiefs quickly dispelled rumors they are shopping Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson before this weekend's NFL draft.
Team spokesman Bob Moore said Thursday the Chiefs have not offered Johnson to anybody and that no team has been given permission to speak with him.
"Anybody who is reporting it's true is simply not telling the truth," Moore said.
The 27-year-old Johnson has been participating in the Chiefs' offseason program. He signed a seven-year contract in 2003, but he can void it down to a five-year deal after the final game of the season because of playing time incentives. He has not yet indicated whether he plans to do so.
Rumors that Kansas City wants to trade the brooding back, who carried the ball an NFL-record 416 times last season, surfaced as the team scrambles to acquire draft picks. The Kansas City Star, without citing a source, reported Thursday that the team had offered Johnson up for trade.
Johnson was asked on Sirius NFL Radio if he would welcome a trade before next season.
"Yeah, to cover myself because I know how fickle the NFL can be as far as age and contracts and running backs," he said. "I would be an idiot to think that I would be taken care of in the long run if I happen to get hurt next year.
"Obviously the numbers could possibly drop. I could possibly not be getting all I could get. If I turn around and play another year I could get the franchise tag. A lot of things play into it.
"I think one thing the fans don't really understand is I don't have a 9-to-5 job. I can't work until I'm 40, until I'm 45. I've got to get what I can get now to take care of not only my future family but my future family's kids and also my grandmother, my aunt. There's a lot of things that play into it when it comes to money."
Kansas City unloaded return specialist Dante Hall to the St. Louis Rams for a fifth-round pick on Wednesday, falling in line with coach Herm Edwards' desire for a more youthful roster built via the draft.
"When you have a veteran football team, that's very, very good," Edwards said recently. "But at the end of the day, you have to acquire young players along the way."
The Chiefs invited four running backs - California's Marshawn Lynch, Ohio State's Antonio Pittman, Florida State's Lorenzo Booker and Louisville's Kolby Smith - for interviews, and have said they are willing to draft a running back in the early rounds.
But Johnson expects team owners Daniel and Clark Hunt to keep him.
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