Chris Johnson expected to sign by middle of next week
Chris Johnson (28) runs the ball during the first half of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Titans were always gearing up to release star running back Chris Johnson, and they officially cut ties with him yesterday after months of build up. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported yesterday that the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons are four teams that contacted the Titans with trade interest, and all four of those teams are fully expected to be suitors for Johnson now that he’s hit the open market. Of course, others could join those four, and it will be interesting to see how much Johnson earns. At this point, he’s probably looking at something resembling a prove-it-type deal.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that Johnson will likely sign with a team by the middle of next week, and that timeline makes perfect sense considering the length of time it took DeSean Jackson to sign upon his release from the Philadelphia Eagles. While there won’t be a bidding war for Johnson, he’ll have a significant amount of interest from teams looking to add a durable, consistent 1,000-yard rusher who may have averaged less than four yards per carry last year because of a knee injury.
Johnson isn’t a hot commodity, though, so it’s going to take some time for interest to materialize and potential deals to be mulled over. At this point, I really like the New York Jets as a fit for him, because they could use a back with his speed and durability to work with Chris Ivory, who is very talented but injury-prone. As long as Johnson is affordable, he makes sense as an option for John Idzik, but there are no favorites this early in the race for Johnson. In fact, we don’t even know how serious the Jets interest in him is.