The Chris Johnson sweepstakes hasn't heated up yet, but teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, NY Jets, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins could be potential landing spots for the Tennessee Titans running back, but it may take longer than some expected, as teams could wait until after the draft to bring him in.
Johnson was released by the Titans last week after six seasons with the team and now he is a free agent and can sign with any team, with the Jets and Denver Broncos as potential options. According to Pro Football Talk, teams are taking their time with Johnson and that is one reason why he has not been signed yet and that also could be tied to the fact that teams may wait until the draft to see what types of backs they can get. Johnson may be asking for too much money as well, as he made $8 million last season and previously signed a big contract extension with the Titans.
For a time, Johnson was considered to be one of the best backs in football and in 2009 he rushed for over 2,000 yards and was the most explosive back in football. Since then he has been consistent while going over 1,000 yards in each of his six seasons, but last year he had a career low 3.9 yards per carry and that was another reason why they released him. Johnson had a long run of 30 yards last season and that was his lowest in six years and now the team feels content to move on with Shonn Greene and Dexter McCluster after signing those two in each of the past two offseason.
Johnson has a number of options, but it really depends on the salary cap for teams and ones like the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins could be interested after ranking in the bottom part of the league in rushing yards last season. The Denver Broncos lost Knowshon Moreno in the offseason to the Dolphins and they could go after him despite having Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball, while the Cowboys could use some depth behind DeMarco Murray. The Dolphins added Moreno and they could also look to sign Johnson, while some other options include the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams.
The NY Jets have been mentioned the most in the Johnson rumors and this comes after the team was interested in making a trade for him when the Titans were shopping him. The Jets have not been afraid to make moves this offseason and they already signed Eric Decker to the offense as a free agent. Johnson is still explosive despite his age and he could make for a nice addition for a number of teams.