He’s going to be on a little bit of a leash early ... He’ll be fine the first two weeks because he knows he can’t do (too much). We’re protecting Larry. That’s important. But the kind of guy he is, after week four I know he’s going to come up to me and say, ‘I can carry it a few more times if you need me to.'

For now, the key part of this equation is how to evaluate Johnson this week. I still have a hard time believing Johnson won't be on the field in the second half during a close game, but the Chiefs could consider giving Bennett every other series in the first half.

Edwards' quotes, though, indicated something I've written about all offseason. Even if LJ beats the odds and stays healthy, his carries are likely to decrease by at least 50-75 touches. That would still leave him among the league leaders. Herm once again:

It’s kind of ironic. He’s back, signed a big contract, now he’s not going to get the ball as much. The first thing he’s going to do is come to my office after the third game and ask, ‘why am I not getting the ball?’ That’s the question you [media] will be asking after week four: ‘why won’t you give Larry the ball more?’ Oh really, last year you said we gave him the ball too much last year. He’ll get the ball.

I don't trust Edwards to truly have LJ on a pitch count late in the year, but they are going to be cautious with him early. My initial Season Pass rankings that went live Tuesday had Johnson ninth. After this news, I'm going to knock him 5-6 spots down to RB2 status. Johnson is still a talented runner and he's still facing the Texans. He's a decent bet to score a touchdown. I wouldn't expect a big game from him, but your team would have to be loaded to bench him.