IRVING, Texas -- Suspended defensive tackle Tank Johnson practiced with the Dallas Cowboys for the first time Friday, disappointed but understanding that commissioner Roger Goodell didn't shorten his eight-game ban.
Johnson, signed by Dallas after getting cut by the Chicago Bears, can't play in a game until Nov. 11th against the New York Giants. He said he'd hoped Goodell would agree to shorten his suspension for violating probation on a gun charge to six games, but will settle for the three weeks of practice he was granted
"Me and Roger, we're good friends, man," Johnson said after the workout. "We talk a lot. It's actually very nice of him to allow me to practice because as far as the career goes, it's kind of important to get going first before you get out there full speed."
He was far from that Friday. After some stretching exercises, Johnson mostly watched during individual drills for the short time practice was open to the media.
Cowboys coach Wade Phillips was glad to have him out there, but he wasn't ready to give the Bears' second-round pick in 2004 first-team repetitions.
"We've got a program for him to start getting ready, but we've got to get ready for this ball game," Phillips said before the final practice leading to Sunday's game against Minnesota.
Johnson started 10 games for Chicago last season and played in the Super Bowl loss to Indianapolis, but his problems started before the playoffs.
In December, police raided his suburban Chicago home and found six unregistered firearms, a violation of his probation on a charge stemming from a 2005 gun-related arrest.
Two days after the raid, Willie B. Posey, Johnson's bodyguard, was shot and killed in an early-morning fight while he and Johnson were at a Chicago nightclub. Johnson was suspended by the Bears for one game for being at the club.
He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge stemming from the raid and spent two months in jail. The traffic stop came about a month after his release.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.
