New York Jets running back Chris Johnson doesn’t seem too happy with the way his tenure with the Tennessee Titans came to an end. The former Pro Bowler was released by Tennessee in early April and Johnson is taking exception to the timing of the move.
The soon-to-be 29-year-old running back had this to say on SiriusXM NFL Radio (H/T Pro Football Talk).
I think they was just being nasty to be honest…I love Tennessee, I love my fans and all that, but I think at the end of the day [the Titans] did me wrong. And I don’t know if it was, ‘Oh, we’re gonna get revenge back on you for holding out’ when I held out the whole training camp [in 2011] or whatever.
Johnson’s criticism is based on the idea that Tennessee was already ready to move on from him when the new league year started more than a month prior to his release.
I feel like they already knew they were going in a different direction, and it just baffles me that you release me after free agency is over and you wait until a couple days [before] it’s time to show up for offseason workouts to let me go.
That’s fine and dandy, but it isn’t like Johnson was going to be receiving huge long-term contract offers if he was released in March. The market for running backs is limited due to multiple factors, including the devaluation of that position around the NFL. In addition to that, a 29-year-old running back who has regressed in each of the last few seasons isn’t going to be a prime free agent target.
Maybe Johnson should focus more on helping his new team improve rather than focusing on the end of his stint in Tennesse.
Photo: NY Post