By Tom James
Tribune-Star Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS
May 06, 2009 11:12 am
—
Former Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy always talked about giving people who had gotten into trouble second chances. Apparently, Colts president Bill Polian and Dungy's successor, Jim Caldwell, agree.
The team announced Tuesday that former Penn State defensive tackle Ed Johnson, who had initially been signed as an undrafted free agent in 2007, has been re-signed. Early last season, the 6-foot-2, 296-pound Detroit native was released after he was arrested for speeding on I-465 and for possession of marijuana.
Johnson had a strong rookie year as he replaced injured veteran Anthony "Booger" McFarland in the Indianapolis defensive lineup, and coming up with 63 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble in 16 games. His loss from the Colts' defensive interior, coupled with the unexpected retirement of defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock during training camp, left a major void in the team's run defense last season.
“We are giving Ed Johnson another opportunity to play for the Indianapolis Colts. We dismissed Ed last year because he knowingly violated a team rule in the area of personal conduct. We consider every violation of a team rule or NFL policy on an individual case-by-case basis, And we evaluate a possible return to the team on that same basis," Caldwell said in a prepared statement.
"Ed understands our team rules and our mandate that players represent themselves as professionals at all times. We feel the lessons Ed has learned will allow him to be what we demand from our players."
If Johnson winds up with a spot on Indianapolis' regular season roster, he will probably be subject to a one-game suspension and be forced to miss the team's Sept. 13 regular-season opening game against Jacksonville. The penalty would be for violating the National Football League's substance abuse policy.
“I would like to thank the Colts, especially [owner] Jim Irsay, for this second privilege to join the team. I apologize to everyone for the situation I created last year. I have learned valuable lessons from my mistake, and I want to regain the trust of the organization, my teammates and our fans,” he said in statement released by team.
Johnson's return, though, should make for quite an interesting battle at the defensive tackle position during the team's upcoming organized team activities, mini-camps and training camp.
The Colts selected former Southern California defensive lineman Fili Moala in the second round and ex-Michigan nose tackle Terrance Taylor in the fourth round in the NFL draft two weeks ago and signed undrafted free agents Adrian Grady (Louisville) and Pat Kuntz (Notre Dame).
Indianapolis also returns 2008 starters Eric Foster and Keyunta Dawson along with backups Antonio Johnson and Daniel Muir. Indianapolis, which now has nine defensive tackles on its offseason roster, had five on its regular season roster a year ago.
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