Christopher Duan Johnson (born September 23, 1985) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. Born in Orlando, Florida, Johnson emerged as a senior for East Carolina University where he broke out for 2,960 all-purpose yards and 24 touchdowns. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, after running a then-record breaking 4.24 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. In 2009, he won the NFL rushing title with 2,006 yards (the sixth of only seven players ever to gain over 2,000 in a season), and broke Marshall Faulk's record of total yards from scrimmage with 2,509.

During the summer training camp prior to the 2011 season, Johnson initially did not show up to camp, pending contract negotiations. Johnson felt he was due a considerably larger sum of money. As the leading rusher since 2008 (4,598 yards) he was set to make $1.065 million in 2011, under existing contract terms (approximately 10% of the money paid to the second-place rusher for the same period). On September 1, Johnson became the highest paid running back in the NFL, agreeing to a four-year, $53.5 million contract extension, including $30 million guaranteed, with the Titans, ending his holdout.  In early November, a report surfaced that Johnson could be released by the Titans prior to the fifth day of the 2012 league year, which begins every March. At the time of the report, Johnson was having the worst season of his career with just 302 rushing yards and one touchdown on 107 carries through the season's first seven games. Johnson's contract calls for an $8 million salary in 2012 that became guaranteed in March; he also will receive a guaranteed salary of $9 million since the fifth day of the 2013 league year passed. If the Titans had released Johnson prior the March 2012 deadline, they would have saved $17 million and Johnson would have become a free agent. On November 13, he had 130 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown against the Carolina Panthers. Two weeks later, he had 190 rushing yards against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. in the next game, against the Buffalo Bills, he had 153 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.  During the 2011 season, Johnson struggled throughout the season under offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. However, he still finished with 1,047 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. After a frustrating season, Johnson elected to participate in the Titans' off-season training program in preparation for the 2012 season.

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