NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans are willing to talk with three-time Pro Bowl running back Chris Johnson about his contract. He just has to show up at training camp first to start the conversation.
"He's under contact," Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt said. "He should be here. Everybody else is. It's the right way to do it."
The Titans opened camp Friday with 80 players reporting and Johnson the lone holdout. Reinfeldt said the team previously had told Johnson that it would be willing to sit down and talk about his contract this year after reworking his deal a year ago to get him more money. Johnson currently is due $800,000 this season.
"We've told Chris and his agent we're willing to sit down and talk about a contract, but he needs to be in camp before we do that," Reinfeldt said.
Johnson said in 2010 that he wanted a new deal with $30 million guaranteed. The Titans revised his contract by pushing some money from the final year into 2010 to convince the running back to report. Johnson said Friday on Twitter that "Imma just leave it in god hands."
New Titans coach Mike Munchak said he spoke with Johnson for about 30 minutes by phone Thursday. Munchak called it a good conversation about the addition of veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and how important Johnson remains to the offense.
"We all know that," Munchak said. "That's a no brainer."
The Titans' first practice of training camp will be Saturday. Johnson can be fined $30,000 for each day of camp missed, but he wants to be rewarded for his production over his first three seasons. He became just the sixth man in NFL history to run for at least 2,000 yards when he had 2,006 in 2009 and the first to rack up 2,500 total yards by adding 500 receiving.
Johnson followed that up by running for 1,364 yards in 2009 despite finishing the season with a bruised thigh, and he has started 46 of the 47 games in which he has played since being drafted 24th overall in 2008 out of East Carolina. Johnson has 4,598 career yards, averaging 5 yards per carry, and also has 1,008 receiving yards.
Running back DeAngelo Williams received a new deal from the Carolina Panthers earlier this week worth $21 million in guaranteed money. He played in just six games last season and ran for 361 yards while dealing with injuries.
Reinfeldt wouldn't discuss specifics when asked about Johnson and the possibility of $30 million guaranteed compared to Williams' deal. Reinfeldt also is looking to add depth at tight end, offensive line and safety while dealing with right guard Leroy Harris and middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch, who are among their own free agents on the market.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Reinfeldt said.
Reinfeldt said the Titans are about $15 million under the salary cap and want to leave at least $5 million to work with during the season. Since the players and the NFL reached agreement on a labor deal Monday, Reinfeldt said the Titans have been working their way first through undrafted free agents, signing their nine draft picks, which they completed Friday with deals for quarterback Jake Locker and linebacker Akeem Ayers.
The Titans' lone dip into the veteran free-agent pool came Wednesday morning when they agreed to terms with Hasselbeck to mentor Locker. They added defensive tackle Shaun Smith on Friday, too.
Hasselbeck arrived in Nashville on Friday and immediately went through physicals and other testing. Under the labor deal, he can't take the field with his teammates until Aug. 4 and will have to work out on his own until then.
But Hasselbeck spoke to reporters Friday night and said it had been a wild and emotional couple of days. He thanked the fans in Seattle and said he's ready to get to work in Tennessee. He'll be trying on his helmet and shoulder pads Saturday morning.
"As a 13-year NFL vet, it's exciting," Hasselbeck said. "It's a little like the first day of school walking in a locker room where you don't know everybody. The guys came in just having run their conditioning tests. Myself and Shaun are basically coming from the airport. I'm looking forward to it, but I can tell there's quality people here."
Munchak also had a talk with wide receiver Kenny Britt, who had several incidents with police during the lockout. Britt was limited in the team's conditioning tests Friday to guard against injury since he had a hamstring injury that limited him much of last season. Munchak said if something happens from now on, Britt will face "consequences."
Notes: Friday was the last day on the job for Steve Underwood, the team's senior executive vice president. He announced in February he would be retiring by August. Elza Bullock will relocate from Houston to Nashville to help with the workload, but Titans owner Bud Adams said in a statement that Underwood's role will not be filled. Adams called Underwood "invaluable" during the team's relocation to Tennessee and during the lockout.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
