Chris Johnson: ‘I’m very close to being 100 percent’

New York Jets running back Chris Johnson has a great chance to take the starting job and run with it this offseason, and it seems like he’ll be given every opportunity to start over another talented back in Chris Ivory and make that happen. For now, though, Johnson’s most important task is to get healthy, and he’s awfully close to being fully recovered from a meniscus tear that he slogged through last season. CJ1K needed surgery on his knee to repair the injury, and it was a big reason why he didn’t bounce back last season despite the addition of top-notch guard Andy Levitre.

Johnson told SiriusXM NFL Radio‘s Alex Marvez and Keith Bulluck on “Late Hits” that he’s close to 100%, “It was real good to be out there running routes today. I’m very close to being 100 percent.”

Last season, CJ1K averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry, but he did top 1,000 rushing yards for the sixth straight season. He’s never ran for less than 1,047 yards in a single season, so all of his six years with the Tennessee Titans were very productive. The 28-year-old, however, has still been considered a disappointment, because we all know he’s capable of so much more after earning the nickname CJ2K for obvious reasons. The explosive back should form one of the league’s better 1-2 punches at the running back position with Ivory, who is underrated and an excellent player when healthy.

If he’s motivated and healthy, then the sky is the limit for Johnson with the Jets next season, and this team will very much be a ground-and-pound offense again with the Chris duo in the backfield. Jets RBs coach Anthony Lynn pretty much challenged Johnson to put up big numbers by stating that it’s all up to the player himself. Johnson has been participating in individual drills at minicamp, and the injury won’t be an issue at all once training camp starts up. At this point, it looks like the Jets will hold him out of team drills until training camp.