Jets cut bait with Jermaine Johnson at perfect time in surprise trade

The New York Jets made a surprise move Thursday morning, trading edge rusher Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans in a deal first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The trade reunites Johnson with new Titans head coach Robert Saleh while sending a young, intriguing piece back to New York in defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, who is entering just the third year of his rookie contract.

With the Titans shifting their defensive scheme under Saleh, Sweat had become something of an odd fit, as a true run-stuffing nose tackle better suited for a different look. At 6-foot-3 and 362 pounds, Sweat is a massive presence in the middle and hints that the Jets could be preparing to tweak their own defensive approach.

More notably, though, this move marks the end of Johnson’s tenure in New York and another significant departure from the Jets’ famed 2022 draft class. And at this point, it is fair to wonder if the Jets chose the perfect moment to move on.

Jets may have traded Jermaine Johnson at the perfect time

The 26th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Johnson looked like a long-term building block for the Jets after a breakout 2023 season. He recorded 7.5 sacks, earned his first Pro Bowl nod, and appeared to be on track to anchor the edge of the Jets defense for years to come.

That trajectory, however, changed abruptly just two games into the 2024 season, when Johnson suffered a torn Achilles, an injury that often proves devastating for edge rushers. Johnson returned in 2025 and played 14 games, but he never looked like the same player.

He finished the season with just three sacks and six quarterback hits, struggling to consistently generate pressure. While it was his first year back from the injury, and edge rushers often need time to regain explosiveness, the uncomfortable reality is that many never fully do.

Jets fans have seen this movie before with Carl Lawson, whose career was never the same after an Achilles tear. That loss of burst can be permanent for edge rushers, and there is no guarantee Johnson will ever return to his pre-injury form.

Jets fans also have to consider Johnson’s contract situation here. He is entering the final year of his rookie deal, playing on his fifth-year option with a $13.4 million cap hit.

That is a sizable number for a player coming off a clearly down season, and it would have required the Jets to gamble on a full recovery with little financial flexibility. The Titans, and Robert Saleh in particular, are willing to take that bet. The Jets were not.

In return, the Jets land T’Vondre Sweat, one of the league’s best young run-stuffing defensive tackles. Sweat posted an 83.4 PFF grade last season and has been dominant against the run through his first two NFL seasons.

At 6-foot-4 and 362 pounds, he is a massive human who has missed just four tackles in his NFL career, recording 37 run stops while playing all 17 games as a rookie. While he missed five games last season with an ankle injury, his overall body of work has been outstanding.

Sweat is also under team control through 2027 on a far cheaper contract, giving the Jets excellent value and flexibility up front. If Johnson regains his old form, this trade could work out for Tennessee as well.

But from the Jets’ perspective, moving on now while Johnson still carried actual value looks like a smart and calculated decision on the part of Darren Mougey. The Jets may just have cut bait at the perfect time.