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Less than a week after offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski called him "rusty," Chad Johnson has taken it with the heart that made him a five-time Pro Bowler and not the frustration of a trade demand that has now ceased with training camp about five weeks away.

And, no, he said Thursday, it wasn't about the money.

"But I could use a little extra for gas," he said.

Contacted by Bengals.com staff writer Geoff Hobson the day after he had arthroscopic surgery to remove "loose bodies" in his right ankle, Johnson said he plans to be ready to run the second week of July with fellow Bengals receivers T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Antonio Chatman, Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell at a Los Angeles passing camp in which Carson Palmer is slated to be one of the throwers.

Wednesday's procedure was performed by Bengals orthopedic surgeon Angelo Colosimo and was completed without complication, the team said.

Unlike the offseason scope of his left ankle a few years ago, doctors took out bone spurs this time and while that offers some more pain, the recovery is expected to be close to the last one that put him on the field in two weeks.

Johnson told Hobson he had a "wonderful" conversation with Palmer at last week's mini-camp, the two are prepared to pick up the pace.

"He looked at film and looked at the things we missed on from Week 1 to Week 16 and he said 1,800 (yards) was reachable if we're perfect," Johnson said. "Of course, Carson and I were off on plays we usually clicked. We left a lot of plays on the field. We talked about what he and I need to do starting in July.

"We have a lot of work to do."

Say what?

Relax boys and girls. This is the same Chad Johnson who spent the entire offseason trying to force the Bengals to trade him away -- at times using the most obnoxious approach possible.

Those interested in reviewing the litany of Johnson's antics -- which ranged from goofy to downright mean-spirited -- should hit the veteran wideout's FootballDiehards profile page and do a quick review. It makes for very interesting reading.

I especially liked the way he visited with stations from a number of cities on "Radio Row" in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, suggesting he would be a great fit on a variety of teams -- whether he would actually fit or not.

The list included Miami, Carolina, Oakland and Dallas to name just a few. ...

Now, however, it all appears to be water under the bridge -- at least as far as Johnson is concerned.

As Hobson put it: "Johnson seems to be categorizing his priorities these days, moving from the textbook trade-me-or-retire-rant to the analytical playbook phase."

"Come on," he said. "Did you really think I wouldn't come?"

This is the same Johnson who said in April: "I will not be at any mandatory camp. I will not be at training camp. I will not be anywhere in Cincinnati. ... This is not a joke.

"I really don't want to play for the Bengals. Period."

It's safe to say the approach has changed.

Indeed, Johnson somewhat incredibly told Hobson Thursday the offseason wasn't about money and he felt "it was funny" that people said it was even though he claims it was his bid to get to a winner.

I would suggest the fact that Miami was among the team's he was lobbying to trade for him shoots that argument down. But no matter to Johnson.

Johnson reiterated, "I love you, Cincinnati," and told Hobson Thursday and he realizes there are fans that have turned against.

But Johnson added that he hopes his fans here understand the trade tirades had nothing to do with his feelings for them and it was venting from a 7-9 season and what he felt was a lack of attention to upgrading the defense. What he called "in-house" criticism also set him off.

"I love them. I hope they understand it's just business," Johnson told Hobson. "I felt in that three-month period the best thing for me was to get out of Cincinnati. I was just going through some things and I thought it was the best move for me. Obviously not. I'm still here. Yeah, it was the losing. It got on my nerves.

"I did everything under the sun to get out of here. I acted psycho. I posed my case. I talked with my owner, who loves me dearly. He must. Those offers were unheard of. And he still said no. Really, I'm not that good."

Bengals president Mike Brown informed Johnson that he was going nowhere because the club didn't believe it could immediately replace the value of a four-time AFC receiving yardage champion.

That included Washington's offer of what amounted to two first-round draft picks. Plus, the Bengals didn't want to deal with salary cap acceleration.

"We have a bigger issue here. Money will take care of itself," said Johnson, who has a contract here through 2011. "If I go out and continue to be way above here, then it's going to have to happen."

And the bigger issue? A Championship.

"We're going to be in Tampa," he said of the upcoming Super Bowl.

Wow. ... As Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio suggested this morning: "Johnson's head has completed its full 360-degree rotation, and it now has returned to its original position.

"We think."

It does sound that way.

"I'm good," Johnson told Hobson when asked about his frame of mind. It'll be interesting to see if it stays that way if the Bengals don't come out of the chute fast this year.

Otherwise, even though I believe the mean-spirited nature of some of Johnson's antics will change the way fans -- certainly Bengals fans -- view him in the short term, as long as he shows up on game days focused and ready to produce this fall, Fantasy owners will quickly forget the first six months of 2008.