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The Jets’ trading Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans made a ton of sense.
Can’t punch any holes in the move whatsoever.
In the deal, they acquired 6-4, 366-pound nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. On paper, he could really help plug up the hole that we too often saw in the middle of the Jets’ run defense.
But, there is no doubt he has a lot to work on – like getting into better shape and playing with a lower pad level.
And if 6-4, 366 is his actual size right now, he would be better off playing at 6-4, 346.
If anyone can get him to do that, it’s Aaron Glenn.
I’m not sure about if Glenn’s “superpower” is calling defense. The last time we saw him doing that the Detroit Lions lost to the Washington Commanders and rookie QB Jayden Daniels in the playoffs at Ford Field.
I think he’s an okay defensive coordinator, but an outstanding, alpha-dog leader of mine, not afraid to look a guy in the eye and tell him what’s up.
Not only is Aaron blunt as hell with players which will help him perhaps get through to T’Vondre about his conditioning, unlike Brian Callahan, but they are both Texas guys. There is a special bond among fellow Texans.
Look, I’m not saying T’Vondre is a bad kid; he’s not. I’m not saying he’s a bad player; he’s not. He just needs to mix in more salads.
If Glenn can get this cat to lose 20 pounds and get into the best shape of his life, I’m telling you, buckle up, he could be dominant, and be that proverbial finger in the dyke to plug up that awful Jets run defense up the middle we have seen the last few years.
But even though Sweat comes with some warts, getting him in a trade for Johnson was a smart gamble to take. Even with his warts, he brings more to the table for the Jets than Johnson.
I don’t want to be disrespectful. Johnson is a decent player, but watching every game as closely as I do, live, and then going over the game again, like a lot of you do, too often, it was hard to tell if he was a first-round pick or a fourth-round pick.
There were too many long stretches where he disappeared.
There were too many times he was facing average starting tackles, or backup tackles, and didn’t make enough happen, for a first-round defensive end.
Also, sometimes, you wonder if he was a great fit for the mindset of what Glenn is trying to build, as a Bill Parcells/Sean Payton disciple.
After the Jets’ loss to the Ravens this year, a game in which he was pancaked by fullback Patrick Richard on a Derrick Henry TD run, he got into a Twitter dispute with a blogger/podcaster from Baltimore who brought this up.
“Speaking of getting cooked, who’s #11 on the Jets? Patrick Ricard just planted some new grass seed with his face!” Cole Jackson tweeted with a video clip of the play.
Johnson actually responded to Jackson, “Y’all don’t know ball.” He went on to explain what his role was on the play.
“Ravens Nation Live” tweeted after this game, “Ronnie Stanley dominated Jets EDGE Will McDonald IV on Sunday, allowing just 1 pressure on 22 pass-block snaps. On the right side, Roger Rosengarten held his primary matchup Jermaine Johnson to zero pressures on 18 snaps.”
Johnson responded to his tweet as well, “I cooked 70 (Rosengarten) even with chip help lol. Having 8 (Lamar Jackson) back there saved him.”
Why is a player chasing windmills like this on Twitter, fighting with fans of the other team? Who cares? Have some Teflon and ignore it.
And by the way, on that Henry TD run, while Johnson did get pancaked by Ricard, he was by far the Jets’ biggest issue on this play. The DT next to him, Michael Clemons, got pushed to the inside on skates, opening the hole. While Ricard is a fullback, he weighs over 300 pounds and outweighs Johnson by 50 pounds. Johnson wasn’t the problem on this play; it was Clemons and others out of position.
But that notwithstanding, why do you feel the need to defend yourself on Twitter against some Ravens homers? Not worth your time or energy.
Just like in Olu Fashanu’s first training camp, when a reporter brought up on Twitter that the rookie tackle was doing a good job on Johnson, and Johnson tweeted at the reporter he was wrong, and the reporter went into the fetal position and retracted his claim.
A few days after getting traded to Tennessee, Johnson tweeted, “What’s a good country club to join in the Nashville area? LMK (Let me know) Titan fam.”
Decent player, but perhaps not a great fit for Glenn’s program. I know Glenn’s program wasn’t great last year, but we kind of know what he’s looking to do.
March 2, 2026
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