Jermaine Johnson has undergone a long recovery process after tearing his Achilles.
The Pro Bowl linebacker was finally activated from the physically unable to perform list last Sunday after 11 months of rehabbing and trying to get back on the practice field.
Johnson is itching to return, but understands the Jets want to be cautious.
“I feel ready to go, but I trust them,” Johnson said. “Like I like to say, they are backing the Ferrari off the truck a little cautiously right now. So, I understand it, but I’m ready to go.”
Last season, Johnson was looking to build upon his solid sophomore campaign when he registered 7.5 sacks and was named to the Pro Bowl as a replacement. But in Week 2, he tore his Achilles in a victory against the Titans and missed the rest of the season.
The hardest part for Johnson was seeing his teammates suffer during a 5-12 campaign, which saw his coach, Robert Saleh, and general manager, Joe Douglas, both fired.
“Knowing the kind of player I am, teammate I am, how much of a difference I could have made …,” Johnson said while pointing out all the close games Gang Green lost. “There’s nothing I can do about it. So, that was probably the hardest thing.
“I like to use this metaphor, the journey being a mountain and you’re in the car and you got a highway going to it. A lot of guys kind of focus on the mountain, ‘damn, that’s a long road. It’s gonna take forever.’ I was just looking at the stripes on the ground pass and just one stripe after another, understanding that pretty soon I was going to reach the mountain. We’ll be there soon and I’m excited for it.”
This offseason, the Jets made several key changes, including a new coach in Aaron Glenn, a new general manager in Darren Mougey, a new defensive coordinator in Steve Wilks and a brand new defensive scheme. Some players worry about their future when a new regime comes in.
However, Glenn expressed confidence in Johnson after he was his defensive coordinator during the 2022 Senior Bowl before the Jets selected him in the first round. That was one of the reasons Glenn and the Jets exercised his fifth-year option on his rookie contract in April.
“He wasted no time when he got here letting me know how excited he is to coach me and how much he expects from me,” Johnson said. “I was just as excited to let him know that those standards will be met or exceeded.
“So, I’m excited.”
Before Johnson was cleared for activity, he was actively present at the Jets facility, working to return to the field. He has also taken on a leadership role after the Jets had a youth movement during the offseason under Glenn and Mougey.
“Preaching the standard, technique stuff,” Johnson said about what being a leader means to him.
“I had great vets. I had Cap C.J. [Mosley], I had John Franklin-Myers, I had guys that showed me this is how it was supposed to look, and this is my chance to kind of pay for and kind of show them. So I’m excited to get off PUP and get out there and show them, ’cause I’m a big believer. I’m leading by example, and I’ll finally get to do that.”
Now the question is, when will Johnson be ready to practice? He has been on the field since being cleared by doctors, but Johnson has been doing individual work off to the side while his teammates participate in team drills.
The Jets’ season opener against the Steelers and former teammate Aaron Rodgers is three weeks away. There can sometimes be an acclimation period when a player returns from an Achilles tear, but Johnson doesn’t believe in making excuses.
“In my opinion, I got a cheat code in my leg now,” he said. “I got a strong Achilles, so I’m faster now.”
Still, Glenn and the Jets staff have a plan for Johnson that they are keeping between themselves.
“We want to bring him in at the right time, and we don’t want to rush that player in, and we have a plan for him,” Glenn said about Johnson. “That’s something between me, Zuff [Jets head athletic trainers Dave Zuffelato], Moug [Mougey], and himself that we’ll continue to talk about.
“Listen, I told him, it’s not about Week 1, it’s not about Week 2, it’s about the longevity of his career, and we want to make sure that we do a good job and we make sure that we do that with him. I tell every player that’s coming back from an injury, we have a plan for them and we make sure we follow protocol to make sure that plan works.”
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