Chris Johnson says his focus when football returns will be on helping the Tennessee Titans get back to the postseason.
"My goal is to make it to the playoffs," he said during his third annual youth football camp at Battle Ground Academy on Saturday. "We haven't been to the playoffs in two years, so my goal is to get to the Super Bowl."
Johnson the superhero
NFL.com comic book geek Adam Rank celebrates the release of summer blockbuster film The Green Lantern by creating his own list of NFL Justice League superheroes. **More ...**
Johnson, who received about $2.1 million in a renegotiated deal last year, hasn't been to the playoffs since the 2008 season, and has that atop his list of goals for 2011.
While his current deal has two years remaining, Johnson will leave that matter to agent Joel Segal once the lockout is settled.
"I'm going to ... worry about playing football at this point," he said.
Johnson ran for 1,364 yards last year, after rushing for 2,006 yards the year before. He said that while the Titans have made changes and the lockout has put things on hold, he is confident the team's veteran leaders can help guide them through the change in coaches from Jeff Fisher to Mike Munchak and at quarterback from Vince Young to Jake Locker.
"We've got enough veteran players at this point for us to take over as players. I don't think it will be as hard as people think. We've just got to step up as players and do our job," Johnson said.
On a conference call Thursday with season ticket-holders, new Titans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer said the passing attack will be slightly different, and could include rookie Jamie Harper, the team's fourth-round draft pick from Clemson. But Johnson's role as a playmaker won't change.
"He's (Harper) 233 pounds and we should be able to plow it up in there pretty good," Palmer said, according to the *Tennessean.* "(But) just watching Chris run, when he's not on the field, I think we're hurting ourselves. Anytime he touches the ball, he has the ability to go the distance.
"He's an elusive running back," Palmer continued. "Once I get (Johnson) here and we get a chance to visit with him, we'll talk about his workload and see how he holds up, I think we'll have a better feel for that. But we'll definitely be adding a big back in certain situations."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
