Jets get best-case injury news on Jermaine Johnson ahead of Week 6

The New York Jets have a legitimate claim to the worst defense in the NFL through five weeks this season. The team's defense has struggled in essentially every facet, but the most jarring liability has been the complete lack of any semblance of a pass rush.

Part of the issue has been the absence of the Jets' best defensive end, Jermaine Johnson, who has missed the last three weeks due to an ankle injury. Fortunately, the team received some good news regarding his status this week.

SNY's Connor Hughes reported on Monday that Johnson "is expected to return" for the team's Week 6 game against the Denver Broncos in London this Sunday. It will mark his first game since suffering the injury nearly a month ago.

Johnson has yet to log a single practice since suffering his injury in Week 2, but Hughes’ report suggests that should change this week. The Jets still face an uphill battle in Denver, but Johnson’s value to this defense can’t be overstated.

Jermaine Johnson expected to return from injury for Jets' Week 6 game

The Jets' defensive end room has been an unmitigated disaster in 2025. Will McDonald is currently second on the team with 11 pressures (behind Quinnen Williams' 14), but he's once again graded out as one of the worst run-defenders in football and has missed an absurd 40% of his tackle attempts.

McDonald is far from the biggest issue, however. With Johnson sidelined, the Jets have been trotting out a trio of defensive ends in Micheal Clemons, Braiden McGregor, and Tyler Baron, who would not be a part of 95% of other 53-man rosters throughout the NFL.

Somehow, Johnson is still third on the team in pressures behind Williams and McDonald, despite having played just two games. That's because the trio of Clemons, McGregor, and Baron has combined for just nine pressures and a whopping zero QB hits in five games.

It's hard to even begin to describe how bad the Jets' defensive end room currently is. All four of the non-Johnson defensive ends currently on the Jets' roster have missed 25% or more of their tackle attempts this season.

The Jets also have the lowest pressure rate in the entire NFL at just 28% despite blitzing over 32% of the time, the seventh-highest mark in the NFL. That's right — the Jets actually have a higher blitz rate than they do pressure rate. That shouldn't be possible.

Johnson isn't going to fix all of the Jets' defensive issues, but his return will provide both a tangible and emotional spark to what is the worst defensive end room in the league. That can only be viewed as a positive for this struggling football team.