ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero announced that the Jets have traded defensive end Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans for nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat.
Johnson is represented by Klutch Sports.
What a potentially terrific trade for the Jets.
Their run defense up the middle was horrendous last year, with their defensive tackles struggling to get off blocks to often, so to add a 6-4, 366-pound immovable object for the middle of their defensive line makes a ton of sense.
“Johnson has quietly wanted out of New York,” announced ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Thursday.
Well, the Jets clearly wanted him out as well.
You don’t give away edge-rushers who you feel can wreck a game.
Clearly, the Jets new brass doesn’t view Johnson that way.
Johnson finished last season with 3 sacks. In the Jets’ last game of the year, against a Buffalo Bills team playing two backup offensive tackles, he had no sacks or QB hits and just two tackles.
He’s more of a #2 end playing opposite a star edge.
His contract called for him to make $13.4 million guaranteed this year under a fifth-year option, perhaps too much money for a #2 end.
Sweat could be just what the Jets need at nose tackle, a redwood tree in the middle of their line, to finally plug up the leaky run defense up the middle you saw under Robert Saleh and that continued last season.
“He’s not going to be single-blocked, so offenses are going to have to end up accounting for him on anything they want to do with their inside running game,” an unnamed scout told NFL.com when the prospect came out of Texas.
Sounds perfect for the Jets – a DT who can fortify their inside run defense.
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