Jermaine Johnson II arrives at Sunday’s opener with plenty on the line.
The Titans open the season against the New York Jets, and the matchup carries extra weight for a few reasons. New head coach Robert Saleh is facing his old team, and Johnson is one of several Titans set to line up against former teammates. For Johnson, though, this one feels especially loaded.
Tennessee traded T’Vondre Sweat for Johnson right after Saleh was hired, and the edge rusher has been one of the most closely watched players on the defense ever since. That attention makes sense. He’s in a contract year, and if he’s going to stick around in Tennessee, the production has to follow.
Johnson’s best stretch came in 2023, when he posted 7.5 sacks in his sophomore season. The next year, he tore his Achilles tendon.
Then came a disappointing 2025 campaign. That 7.5-sack peak isn’t a gaudy number, but it does show the kind of upside Saleh clearly believed he was getting when he made the move.
The injury history is the part that makes this season so tricky. A sports medicine study on 62 NFL players who ruptured their Achilles between 2008 and 2022 found that most returned to a lower level than before the injury. It also showed that players tended to improve from Year 1 to Year 2 after the tear.
That’s the window Johnson is working in now. He should be far enough removed from the injury to have a real chance at a bounce-back season, even if nothing is promised. If he doesn’t get back to a high level, the Titans may decide the issue isn’t just the Achilles and move on at the position next offseason.
And if Tennessee slips into another rough year, Johnson’s play off the edge could end up being part of the story. The Titans need more from him in Saleh’s Wide 9 look, and the 2027 draft class already has some notable EDGE talent waiting in the wings. That’s the kind of pressure that can make a player feel like a one-and-done before the season even gets rolling.
In Other News...
Titans Still Have One Big AFC South Problem Fans Will Notice
Ahead of the 2026 NFL season, the Titans are being measured the same way every AFC South rival is getting measured - by how the roster stacks up at the key spots that decide division races. The comparison cuts across seven positional categories and gives a broad read on where Tennessee can feel encouraged, from the quarterback room and running backs to the pass-catchers, offensive line and front seven, while also taking into account the coaching staff and the wider shape of the rebuild.
What makes the exercise especially useful for Titans fans is how it frames the real question in the division: not whether Tennessee has pieces worth believing in, but whether those pieces are enough to climb past Houston, Jacksonville and Indianapolis in the spots that matter most. The rankings leave plenty of room for optimism and just as much room for uncertainty, which is why the biggest remaining issue for this team is less about one weakness than about how quickly its strongest areas can start looking like a true edge. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Face Early Pressure To Prove This Season Feels Different
The season opener against the Jets arrives with a little extra weight for Tennessee, because it is the kind of game that can shape how the first few weeks feel before the schedule turns tougher. Robert Saleh is making his coaching debut, and for the Titans, the start matters just as much as the opponent. A clean showing in Week 1 would not settle anything, but it would give the team a chance to set a different tone and give fans reason to believe this year may unfold differently.
The urgency only grows when you look at what comes next, with a run of challenging matchups waiting immediately after the opener. That is why the Jets game has become such an obvious early marker for the Titans, a chance to bank a win and build momentum before the road gets far steeper. For a team trying to create confidence around a new season, this first step may end up carrying more significance than the calendar would suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Defense Faces A Bigger Test Against The Jets Than Expected
The Titans head into their matchup with the Jets facing a defense-first assignment that got a little trickier in the lead-up to kickoff. Tennessee wants its front to bother Geno Smith and keep Breece Hall from getting loose, but the game plan now has to account for a thinner linebacker group and more weight on the players stepping in around the edges.
Cedric Gray is out after not clearing concussion protocol, which pushes more responsibility onto rookies and recent additions as Tennessee tries to control the tempo. Anthony Hill Jr. is among the names expected to pick up the slack, while Jermaine Johnson and John Franklin-Myers are also being asked to bring extra pressure in a spot where the Titans could use every disruptive snap they can get. [Read more 🡒]