The Tennessee Titans have a new coach and a new outlook on the future and that could mean a new offense for running back Chris Johnson, who has complained over the past two seasons about his contract and how he is used and now that Ken Whisenhunt is head coach, is there a chance that the RB could get dealt after he has surgery to repair his torn meniscus?
According to Pro Football Talk, Johnson has been dealing with the injury all season and the procedure will be "minor", meaning it will keep him out for less than a month and Johnson said that it had been bothering him since back in Week 3. Johnson did not miss any time with the injury, but one reason he could get dealt is the fact that he has been disappointing for the Titans since his 2,000 yard breakout season a few years ago, as he averaged under four yards per carry and that was a career low for him.
Johnson is getting paid $8 million next season and reports have the team wanting Johnson to take a pay cut, as Pro Football Talk writes that the Titans may threaten to release him if he does not take a contract restructuring of his deal. Johnson said that he is not looking to take a pay cut and it comes after he signed that huge contract extension with the team and now it appears that he will end up as a free agent if he does not give in to the demands of the club. Johnson rushed for over 1,000 yards this season, but it was only 77 over and he had just six touchdowns for the Titans, who finished 7-9 and out of the playoffs once again.
Johnson had his best professional season with over 2,000 yards, but that was five years ago and since then he has had four straight 1,000 yard seasons, but nothing close to that year. Johnson had 25 touchdowns over the 2009 and 2010 seasons sand since then he has just 16 and now the Titans must decide how much money they can afford to deal with if they want to keep Johnson, who went down .5 yards per carry from last year to this season to dip to 3.9 for a career low and this could mean a split is coming.
Johnson would get attention from a number of teams if he hits the market and the 28 year old still sees himself as one of the best backs in the NFL. Johnson originally suffered the injury in Week 3 when he had 90 yards in the win over the Chargers and now he could end up on a new team.
