"All I can do is continue to work out and stay in shape. From them seeing me yesterday, (GM Mike Reinfeldt) knows I am in great shape, and he said 'you're looking good' and things like that. All I can do right now is keep working out and keep waiting." Despite the stalemate, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports that Titans head coach Mike Munchak said Thursday that his team will not trade Johnson. Reinfeldt and Vin Marino, the Titans' vice president of football administration, met Wednesday morning with Johnson and Segal. Reinfeldt said in a statement he felt it was important to meet face to face. "I'm not sure there was any progress made, but I do think it was beneficial to meet. We were able to discuss several different elements of a potential contract, but there was no agreement on those topics," Reinfeldt said. "I do expect to have another conversation with Joel in the next day or so to discuss things further." The Titans and Johnson have been far apart on an extension, even though Tennessee officials have said they are ready to make the three-time Pro Bowler the highest-paid running back in NFL history. However, sources have told ESPN NFL Insider that Johnson wishes to be paid as one of the top playermakers -- not just running backs -- in the NFL. League sources have told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that Johnson is seeking a deal that would pay him $39 million in the first three years, a $13 million average, which would place him in that elite status he is seeking beyond the running back market. Johnson is scheduled to earn $1.065 million for 2011 after Tennessee revised his contract a year ago to get him more money. His original five-year contract was for $12 million. The running back leads the NFL in yards rushing over the past three seasons and each time a free-agent has signed a high-priced contract since the end of the NFL lockout only seems to bolster his pay demands. The Titans open the season Sept. 11 at Jacksonville. If the stalemate threatens to continue into the season, the Titans likely will need to add a veteran running back. Javon Ringer has shown flashes backing up Johnson the past two seasons as a fifth-round pick in 2009, but the All-American out of Michigan State has only 59 carries for 287 yards and two touchdowns. He also missed the past week with a bruised hip. Rookie Jamie Harper has looked very good this preseason, especially last weekend when he started at St. Louis. The fourth-round pick out of Clemson currently leads the team with 110 yards rushing on 19 carries with two touchdowns. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
