Done Deal
Cowboys Sign Tank Johnson; Now Wait On Suspension
Nick Eatman - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
September 18, 2007 3:56 PM
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Johnson played in 46 games with the Bears during the last three seasons.
IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys officially signed suspended defensive tackle Tank Johnson to a two-year contract on Tuesday. The former Bears lineman is two games into an eight-game suspension from the NFL for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
Now that Johnson is signed, his suspension reverts to the Cowboys, who have their bye week in the NFL's eighth week of the regular season. That means Johnson will not be eligible to play his first game until Nov. 11, when the Cowboys play at the New York Giants. Johnson will not be able to practice or even work out at the team's facility until Nov. 5, the day after the Cowboys play at Philadelphia in their eighth game of the season.
However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has the option to reduce Johnson's suspension to six games.
Johnson received a minimum contract of a $510,000 base salary this season, which will be prorated to eight games this season.
To make room for Johnson on the roster, the Cowboys had to release cornerback Nate Jones.
However, NFL rules state that Johnson must be on the roster for 24 hours before being moved to the Reserve/Suspended list. Once that happens, he will not count on the 53-man roster and the Cowboys would be free to either re-sign Jones or sign another player.
The fact the Cowboys are willing to release Jones, the team's dime cornerback the first two games, might suggest starting cornerback Terence Newman could be getting closer to returning to action after missing both games with a partially torn plantar fascia in his right foot.
While Newman might have a chance to play in Sunday night's showdown against the Bears, the Cowboys know that Johnson won't be playing for the next several weeks.
But having a big defensive tackle for the second half of the season obviously was something the Cowboys felt was needed. The club took a serious hit at nose tackle last week when starter and team leader Jason Ferguson was lost for the season with a torn biceps that required surgery last Friday.
While the Cowboys have some confidence in Jay Ratliff, a converted defensive end who started and played the majority of Sunday's game at Miami, Johnson would certainly add some size and depth to the position.
But he also brings a somewhat troubled past.
Johnson spent the last three seasons with the Bears, who released him on June 25, shortly after he was pulled over in Arizona for driving impaired. While those charges were eventually dropped, Johnson has a long list of off-the-field incidents since joining the Bears in 2004. The 25-year-old tackle served a two-month jail sentence for violation of his probation stemming from a previous gun charge.
A second-round pick of the Bears in 2004 out of the University of Washington, Johnson has played in 46 games for the Bears the last three years, helping Chicago develop into one of the best defenses in the NFL. Johnson has nine career sacks, including 3 ½ last season when his playing time increased towards the end of the year after Chicago lost Tommie Harris to injury.
Johnson was able to play in Super Bowl XLI with the Bears last January, recording four tackles and a half-sack. However, he needed a Circuit court permission to leave the state of Illinois and travel to Miami, Fla., for the game, stemming from the arrest for gun charges.
But since Johnson doesn't provide immediate help at the position, the Cowboys likely will continue to start Ratliff, who had two tackles, one fumble recovery and a pass deflection in the team's 37-20 win over the Dolphins.
Unlike Ferguson and even Johnson, Ratliff has more quickness and less size for the normal nose tackles. The Cowboys will have to use more stunts with Ratliff and line up more in the gap than directly over the center.
Behind Ratliff, for now, is Remi Ayodele, who was released by the Cowboys on the final roster cuts after the preseason. But after being claimed and then released by the Falcons, Ayodele re-signed with the Cowboys.
on the N.E. Pats..............and drops Tanks suspension to a few games.......
