Rudi

Johnson

We’ll be watching closely to see if Rudi loses serious time. If Perry gets run in the red zone, Johnson’s fantasy value will be truly effected.

Coach Marvin Lewis is just making good on his promise to rest his veterans during the team’s bye week.

Rudi is on pace to set a Bengals franchise record in carries and gain over 1,300 yards. Preseason, we thought the Bengals would not re-sign Ru-di, but with the slow development of Chris Perry, they might have to.

“Same old, same old,” Johnson said before Wednesday’s practice. “It is what it is ... It doesn’t bother me. I’m still going to go out and play.” Johnson is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Cincinnatti appears serious about keeping their offensive unit intact. Rudi will likely stay, with a new contract or as the team’s franchise player.

He made a silly threat to sit out the season, and we doubt he’ll even skip summer minicamps. Rudi still hopes for a long-term deal, but we doubt one will happen with Chris Perry on the roster.

Rudi has said he’d rather sit out the season than accept the tag. The Bengals would love to keep Rudi, but probably don’t want to give him a long-term deal. This one has potential to get ugly.

We’d consider it a surprise, but only time will tell. His long-term deal most directly affects the fantasy potential of Chris Perry.

Johnson may miss training camp, but it would not help Rudi to allow Chris Perry to get more work in the summer.

He wants a long-term deal to stay. While sitting out a season is highly improbable, Johnson is certainly forcing Marvin Lewis’ hand. But with Chris Perry on the roster and so many backs available, Cincinnati may be unwilling to give him one. Johnson better be careful, because there are more quality running backs than starting jobs available this offseason.