In a press conference Tuesday, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Herman Edwards outlined his plan for Larry Johnson for the first few games of the season.

“He’s going to be on a little bit of a leash early,” Edwards was quoted on kcchiefs.com. “He carried the ball two or three times in St. Louis. So he has to get his legs underneath him. Michael Bennett is healthy and that’s good; it gives us another runner.”

Johnson held out of training camp for 25 days, but even upon his return it was likely he wouldn’t be 100 percent for the season opener. “No, it’ll take a little bit more than that,” Johnson was quoted on NFL.com Aug. 22.

“We feel very comfortable with the runners we have. It’s not all on LJ. It’s tough on one guy and he did a yeoman’s job last year.”

Last season, Johnson totaled 1,789 yars on 416 carries with 17 touchdowns. 

“When I took this job I didn’t anticipate him carrying the ball that much. But injuries and losing the quarterback…the last time I checked you give the ball to your best player. He was our best player last year.

“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.”

Source: Rotoworld, ESPN.com. kcchiefs.com. Sept. 4 – 10:36 p.m. et