Jets' Jermaine Johnson expects to return Week 1 against Aaron Rodgers, Steelers
Jermaine Johnson's long-awaited comeback from a torn Achilles tendon is on track to happen the same day a former New York Jets teammate makes what's sure to be a much-hyped return.
Week 1 at MetLife Stadium — against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"We actually were just texting last night," a smiling Johnson said of Rodgers on Tuesday after the first practice of the Jets' three-day mandatory minicamp. "It's funny. But obviously, I'm excited. He's excited."
Johnson, a promising edge rusher who was coming off his first Pro Bowl selection, tore his right Achilles tendon in Week 2 last year and missed the rest of the season. Coach Aaron Glenn said the 2022 first-round draft pick should be "close" to being ready for training camp in July and could start on the physically unable to perform list, "but he'll be ready for the season."
During the early days of his recovery, Johnson was comforted by Rodgers, who made a comeback of his own last season after tearing his left Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut with the Jets in 2023. Rodgers was released by New York in the offseason, signed last week with Pittsburgh and made his practice debut with the Steelers on Tuesday.
"It was a pleasure having Aaron around and stuff like that, and I wish him the best," Johnson said. "But when I get between those lines, there's no friends. And I think he knows that, and he feels the same, so I'm excited.
"It's just another game, but for me, it's going to be my first game back, and there's a lot of emotions. And when my emotions run high, I tend to play pretty well."
Johnson declined to say what he and Rodgers texted about Monday night, but acknowledged the quarterback was instrumental in helping get his mind right as he prepared for the tough recovery and rehabilitation.
"First thing he said, he's like, 'You'll be good. You've got a 10-year-plus career here. You're all right. Chalk it up,'" Johnson recalled. "It just kind of let me calm down a little bit and be able to gather myself and just take it on the chin and handle it and do a good job at it. So that's how I've attacked it. Aaron's been a tremendous help in so many ways."
Despite the uncertainty over the injury, Glenn and the Jets showed their belief in Johnson as part of their defense moving forward when they picked up his fifth-year contract option, along with those of fellow 2022 first-rounders Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson.
"It was a big investment," Johnson said. "They've seen enough of me and heard enough about me that they're willing to dive into that for at least one more year. So it means a lot to me. I'm always a man of my word and a man of honor, so to me, that's them lifting their end of the couch, and now it's my turn to lift my end of the couch."
Johnson had 2.5 sacks in 14 games as a rookie after being drafted 26th overall out of Florida State before breaking out with 7.5 sacks in 2023 while starting all 17 games for New York. He also had 16 quarterback hits, 11 tackles for loss and returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown.
Then came the setback last season, just as he was blossoming into a force on the Jets' defense.
"I cried a little bit like right after I got hurt," Johnson said. "But I'm just a man a faith, so God wanted me to walk through this, and I took it like that and, you know, embodied this rehab. And I have full confidence I'm gonna come back without missing a beat."
The Jets are banking on that, envisioning Johnson as a key part of their pass rush.
Glenn was a member of the Detroit Lions staff that coached at the Senior Bowl in 2022, and Johnson left a lasting impression on him.
"He's a hard-nosed, physical, violent player that's very athletic that has the ability to win off the edge and make plays on the quarterback," Glenn said. "Listen, you don't get a lot of guys that have the athleticism as he does but still be strong and powerful to be able to hold against the run. So I'm excited to see that player get out there in training camp and going into the first game.
"So he's going to be a huge part of what we're doing. He knows that. But again, he understands what he's got to get better at, too."
Reporting by The Associated Press.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
recommended
Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
The college sports employment case that looms as the NCAA's next pivotal court battle
The final settlement of the House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit is a huge relief to college sports. It's the start of a new economic model and a chance for college sports leaders to show legislators and the public they are capable of change. Here is what it is not: The end of their legal troubles. Throughout the final stretch of this case, many involved have pointed to the next big one coming down the pike. Johnson vs. NCAA, which has been moving through the courts for almost six years now, gets into one of the thorniest issues in college sports: employment. It could be a clarifying win for the NCAA, or it could be the case that hastens the big changes many have predicted — football breaking away from the rest of college sports, and a football Super League. Advertisement In February 2019, Ralph 'Trey' Johnson, a former running back at Villanova, sued the NCAA and nearly a dozen schools, claiming that athletes should be recognized as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The case has slowly wound through the system, growing to include other former athletes while NCAA efforts to have the case dismissed have been swatted away. Essentially, the Johnson side argues that the NCAA and its schools have gotten away for decades — and continue to do so, even in the age of name, image and likeness payments and revenue sharing — with having athletes take part in a relationship that has all the appearances of employment, without paying them an hourly wage. 'Athletes should have the same, limited student employee status as classmates selling popcorn at NCAA games,' said Paul McDonald, the lead lawyer for the Johnson side. The NCAA argues that the arrangement has worked for decades, benefits athletes and still works for them, especially with NIL, revenue sharing and cost-of-attendance payments added to the pile. But the organization also seems to acknowledge this as another challenge to the system, and hopes it can be solved through federal legislation rather than the courts. 'The NCAA is making changes to deliver more financial benefits to student-athletes but there are issues such as employment that can only be addressed by Congress,' the NCAA said in a statement to The Athletic this spring. 'The Association looks forward to working with student-athletes and lawmakers to set a stable, and sustainable future for all 500,000 student-athletes.' The case could go to trial as early as next year. There's always a chance the NCAA and the plaintiffs will settle, as in the House case, which leads to new rules and perhaps collective bargaining. But for now, both sides seem dug in. McDonald sees this as a civil rights and fairness issue, and asks why athletes aren't treated the same as student concession stand workers, teaching assistants or any student who does work for the university and is considered an employee. Those students are usually paid hourly, often minimum wage, because they are performing a job. McDonald argues athletes should have the same 'equal treatment' to classmates in work-study student employment, some of whom are also on academic scholarships that don't preclude them from earning a wage. Advertisement 'This would be easy to implement using NCAA-mandated timesheets, and affordable on hourly, minimum wage scales — particularly if colleges stop overpaying some coaches,' McDonald said. 'Colleges have never explained why they oppose this easy and equitable solution.' Johnson filed his case before the NIL and revenue sharing eras began, but McDonald argues that should have no impact: While NIL payments are based on an individual's popularity and revenue sharing rewards a sport's popularity, all athletes should be deemed employees because they are performing a job. For several reasons, colleges and universities are very much against employment. There's the culture of college athletics, the idea that these are students seeking a degree and also playing sports, rather than paid athletes. Some cynics say there's a measure of control involved too, especially with the coach-player dynamic. And of course, there's the money. Every employee has a salary and other costs attached, and paying them all hourly wages would wreck budgets. The SEC and a group of education associations filed an amicus brief in the Johnson case, warning that only 2 percent of NCAA member schools generate enough revenue to cover operating costs. 'If colleges and universities are forced to pay their student-athletes (as employees) it is inevitable that many schools will simply eliminate athletics teams, with non-revenue sports teams the most likely to be on the chopping block,' the brief read. The other possible result: The richest schools pulling away from the rest of the NCAA, as the disparity between the haves and have-nots widens. Every school, even the big brands, is adjusting costs and chasing more revenue to pay for revenue sharing. Employment for athletes could prompt another wave of cost-adjusting and revenue-chasing. Advertisement Preventing athletes from being employees has been a central focus of the NCAA in federal legislation, and the House of Representatives' Education and Workforce committee plans to work to codify that restriction as part of a set of bills in the works from three House committees this week. Of course, any federal law could still be challenged in the courts, which is why outside observers think this will still be settled there. What constitutes employment can be a complicated issue, including various tests. Does the employer have the right to hire and fire the employee? Does the employer set rules and working hours? How much day-to-day supervision is involved? There have been court cases before on employment status, but none quite like this. 'In the employment law world, you have employees and you have non-employees. There's only two buckets,' said Josh Nadreau, an employment lawyer in Massachusetts who has advised some schools on employment issues. 'And I think with respect to looking at student athletes, to try to put them into this two-bucket paradigm is complicated.' There could be a lesson in what the Third Circuit said last year when it denied the NCAA's attempt to dismiss the case. The circuit court judges devised a test to determine whether athletes are employees, which could lead to different conclusions about athletes in revenue versus non-revenue sports. 'They're not subject to the same pressures, they're not subject to the same economic forces,' Nadreau said. 'I think at some point we'll start drawing circles around different groups, some will be employees and some will not.' For many, that's the clean solution, but McDonald is not distinguishing between sports in his arguments. Field hockey players, though their sport is not a revenue driver, also work hard and compete for their school, serving essentially as brand ambassadors, and have expectations from their coaches. Meanwhile, the NCAA has expressed no interest in granting hourly wages to any athletes, even those in football and basketball, hoping the House settlement's revenue-sharing structure shows that athletes are now being sufficiently paid. One final caveat: Expecting this to play out the same way as the House case ignores that it has a different lawyer and is also starting on the opposite coast. The House case, led by Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler, went before the same federal judge, Claude Wilken, in California, who oversaw the Alston case (also led by Berman and Kessler) that eventually went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously against the NCAA's ability to cap education-related benefits. The Johnson case was filed in Pennsylvania, which the Third Circuit oversees, so it could proceed predominantly on the East Coast. Advertisement But unless and until the case makes it to the Supreme Court — or gets settled — there could still be more lawsuits and differing rulings. The result could be a mish-mash of laws, with athletes' employment statuses depending on where you live. 'The question of common sense comes down to who's deciding,' Nadreau said. 'What some people might say is common sense might be different than the rest of the country.'
USA Today
38 minutes ago
- USA Today
Ex-Panthers WR Diontae Johnson admits Browns were only team to contact him this offseason
Ex-Panthers WR Diontae Johnson admits Browns were only team to contact him this offseason A former Carolina Panthers wide receiver may be on his last chance in the NFL. Diontae Johnson, now a member of the Cleveland Browns, chatted with reporters from the site of his new team's mandatory minicamp on Wednesday. The 28-year-old and one-time Pro Bowler talked about trying to move on from a tumultuous 2024 season, one where he picked up four different stints with three different teams. "Everybody's gonna have their opinions," stated Johnson, who also admitted that the Browns were the only team to contact him this offseason. "At the end of the day, I'm the only one in that room that really know what be going on. They're entitled to their own opinion. I can only go off of what I know and try to go off of what I put out there, my best effort. Last year's last year, I'm trying to change that narrative and move the right way and keep going." Johnson's campaign began with the Panthers, who acquired him in a trade with the Pittsburgh Steelers at the start of the new league year. Then Johnson, despite leading the team in every major receiving stat through eight weeks, was shipped away to the Baltimore Ravens in a deal involving a late-round draft pick swap. The Panthers didn't disclose exactly why they cut ties with Johnson, but their reasoning may have become evident during his stay in Baltimore. After refusing to enter a Week 13 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, Johnson was suspended and eventually waived by the Ravens. He'd then wind up with the Houston Texans right ahead of their playoff run. Johnson's run there, however, was cut short—as the Texans parted ways with him after he made a scene in the locker room following the team's wild-card round win over the Los Angeles Chargers. His season essentially came to an end when he was claimed by the Ravens a day later. Baltimore, who had no intentions of actually playing Johnson for the remainder of their postseason appearance, picked him up in an effort to improve their compensatory draft pick formula . . . and maybe to stick it to the disgruntled pass catcher. So, after all of that, perhaps Johnson was lucky to have even one team show interest in him. Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Steelers OC Arthur Smith hilariously says they didn't sign Rodgers to 'run the wishbone'
Steelers OC Arthur Smith hilariously says they didn't sign Rodgers to 'run the wishbone' Steelers OC Arthur Smith hinted at some offensive scheme changes coming in 2025. A conflict of offensive interest seemed to be brewing with the signing of Aaron Rodgers — who threw the second-most pass attempts in the NFL last season — fitting with the run-heavy Steelers, who ran the ball the fourth-most often in 2024. At mandatory minicamp, Smith made it very clear that the additions of Rodgers and DK Metcalf will see the ball fly through the air more in Pittsburgh (courtesy of Mike DeFabo): "Obviously, as your roster evolves — we didn't bring Aaron in here and sign DK for all that money to go run the wishbone." The wishbone, a RB-heavy formation once popular in college football, was clearly a sarcastic dig at anyone questioning whether or not the team would commit to the same offensive philosophy with Rodgers and Metcalf — but it appears Steelers fans that love a good passing attack may have their wish granted this season. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
