Cowboys Sign Suspended DT Tank Johnson

Chicago Bears defensive lineman Tank Johnson speaks at a news conference at the Bears football minicamp in Lake Forest, Ill., in this May 18, 2007 file photo. Johnson, released by the Bears after receiving an eight-game suspension for violating probation on a gun charge, has signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, file) (M. Spencer Green - AP)

The Bears released Johnson on June 25, three days after he was pulled over by police in Gilbert, Ariz. He already had served a two-month jail term for the gun charge and been suspended by the NFL for violating the league's personal conduct policy.

Gilbert police closed the June case without charging Johnson, who was stopped for speeding. His blood alcohol level was .072, under the presumptive limit for DUI.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had said the suspension could be reduced to six games if Johnson had no further involvement with law enforcement and underwent counseling. That was before Johnson was stopped in Arizona.

Last December, police raided Johnson's suburban Chicago home and found six unregistered firearms _ a violation of his probation on an earlier gun charge.

That charge stemmed from Johnson's 2005 arrest after a Chicago nightclub valet reported seeing Johnson with a handgun in his SUV. He subsequently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

Two days after last December's 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 played in the Super Bowl when the Bears lost to Indianapolis.

During Jones' ownership, the Cowboys have taken on plenty of players whose character flaws have cost them jobs elsewhere. They were successful with Alonzo Spellman, another former Bears player, in 1999-2000 but less so with Dimitrius Underwood in 2000-01.

Jones signed few players with off-field issues the past four seasons, when Bill Parcells was coach. With Dallas off to a strong start after making the playoffs last season, Jones apparently sees this as a low-risk, high-reward gamble.

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AP Sports Writer Jaime Aron contributed to this report.