Chris Johnson has been mentioned in trade rumors quite a bit heading into this offseason and now teams like the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, NY Giants, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers could be options if the Tennessee Titans opt to trade the running back during free agency.
Johnson has been a consistent back in the league, going over 1,000 yards in each of his seasons in the NFL, but he had a career low in yards per carry last season and was not his usual explosive self and now he could be on his way out of town. According to Pro Football Talk, after Johnson and the Titans came to a stall at their contract talks, the team has started looking into the possibility of trading him and they have been looking at potential teams and destinations.
Johnson blasted onto the scene with blazing speed and ended up with over 2,000 yards one season early in his career and ever since he has wanted to be treated like the elite running backs. For a while he was one, but at his age and with the way he has declined over the past couple years, it could be hard for the team to deal him. Johnson could be tough to trade, as his contract is a hard one to move and he has $10 million cap hits in 2014 and 2015 and he has a $9 million hit the following season and that could make moving him tougher than many realize.
Johnson may end up getting released eventually and he could be cut if the two sides can't figure out an agreement on what to do with his current deal. This would be the second time that Johnson wants his deal re-done and the Titans are sick of his attitude when it comes to the team overall and that is why they are looking into moving him. The team could use to free up the space in free agency to sign Alterraun Verner, as he is getting tons of attention on the market already, including from the Giants and the Steelers among other teams.
The report from Pro Football Talk said the team will cut Johnson if they can't find anyone that wants to deal for him and that comes after the team has paid the man over $30 million over the past three seasons. The Titans have a deep roster of players they could look at in free agency, including Ben Tate, Rashad Jennings and Darren McFadden.
Last season Johnson had 1,077 yards and a career-low 3.9 yards per carry and with names like Knowshon Moreno, James Starks and Donald Brown on the market, the team may not be able to find a decent deal for Johnson. The Dolphins and Browns have a nice amount of cap space and that could lead them to make a deal, while the Dallas Cowboys could try to go for a splash after being mentioned in Adrian Peterson speculation last season, but they likely do not have the cap space either.