"It is an $8 million gamble.

By mid-March, the Titans must decide whether to keep or cut Chris Johnson.

If he's on the team's roster on the fifth day of the league year, Johnson gets his base salary of $8 million. If the Titans cut ties with him, Bud Adams doesn't have to write that check.

Since it's Bud's money and not mine, I say pay the man. Look, you've already given him the keys to the vault so what's another $8 million among friends?

Look, we're not talking about balancing the federal budget here. We're talking about compensating a player around which much of your offense is built.

Is he worth it? Based on what happened this season, no.

But this is where it gets tricky. Given the current state of their roster, the Titans have no real choice but to bank on the possibility that with a dedicated off-season conditioning program and a full training camp — not to mention better blocking at the point of attack — Johnson will more closely resemble the 2,006-yard runner of 2009 than the 1,047-yard runner of 2011.

OK, OK. He's never going to approach 2,000 yards again. Only six NFL players have ever hit that plateau. I'm not sure anybody will threaten 2,000 yards again, although bumping the schedule to 18 games would create more opportunities."