The New York Jets took a massive hit to their defensive line during their 24-17 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday evening.
Jets may have lost LB Jermaine Johnson for the year with Achilles injury
Jets Pro Bowl pass-rusher Jermaine Johnson came up hobbled with an Achilles injury and needed to be carted off of the field. Johnson sustained the non-contact injury in the third quarter after trying to breach the Titans’ defensive line.
He was pushed back by the offensive lineman who matched up with him as he attempted to bring down Tennessee’s quarterback Will Levis. After landing on his back foot, Johnson went down immediately after in pain.
A sports reporter by the name of Justin David Kish shared footage of the injury on X earlier today:
According to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, after the game, the 25-year-old talent spoke to the media in the locker room and had much to say about the heartbreaking nature of his infirmity and how he intends to approach his road back to the field, though no official diagnosis has been released just yet:
“I thought somebody stepped on me,” he said. “Then I looked at the replay and nobody stepped on it, and I was like, ‘Damn.’ But, man, I’m in positive spirits. I got my crying out on the field a little bit. I’m probably going to get a little more crying in tonight. But after that, you know, 24-hour or 48-hour mourning rule for me and we’ll be back to work.”
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Johnson may not be able to continue his strong start to the 2024 campaign
The FSU product was consoled on the field by his teammates, chiefly by defensive tackle Solomon Thomas before getting carted back to the locker room. Johnson barely got the chance to start stringing together a case for a second-straight Pro Bowl nod or a shot at an All-Pro honors. He registered two total tackles in New York’s 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1 and two more against Tennessee, including one tackle for loss.
Now, the Minnesota native faces a daunting road ahead. Jets head coach Robert Saleh stated that the team fears that he tore his Achilles. Should that be the case once the official medical report gets released, it will likely shelve Johnson until the start of the 2025 NFL campaign, as the same ailment did Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers from Week 1 of 2023 until this year’s season debut.
The Jets have already been maneuvering without star pass-rusher Haason Reddick thanks to his prolonged holdout from the team, and have now likely lost another invaluable piece in their trenches. C.J. Mosley and Quincy Williams will hold down the fort in the Jets’ front seven moving forward.
