New York Jets: Trumaine Johnson would be a perfect fit
Trumaine Johnson would be a perfect choice for the New York Jets when free agency opens.
The New York Jets will be sitting pretty when free agency opens next month. When they inevitably release Muhammad Wilkerson they will have approximately $100 million of available salary cap space. This plays right into Mike Maccagnan’s wheelhouse. When he arrived in 2015 he had salary cap space as well and he essentially constructed a playoff team. With money in tow he is adept at brining in the necessary pieces to win football games.
Everybody knows that exhibit A of free agency is going to be Kirk Cousins. The Jets more than have the finances to do it if they can sell him on coming to join the team. Even if they sign him on a heavily front-loaded contract there will be money available to sign other players. Well the Jets need help at the cornerback position and one of the biggest stars in the league is available. Trumaine Johnson is the guy and he would be a perfect fit in New York with Todd Bowles‘ bunch.
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Johnson will likely be available, especially since the Rams acquired Marcus Peters in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs. With Peters on the roster Johnson becomes expendable. The Jets need the help at the cornerback position. Other than Morris Claiborne, who at this point may or may not be back, the depth chart at the position was bare. Buster Skrine and his teammates had their struggles, exposing at times the youth of Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye.
The Jets need the help.
Take a look at the career of Trumaine Johnson to date:
| Games | Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Sacks & Tackles | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | Sk | Tkl | Ast | Sfty | AV |
| 2012 | 22 | STL | lcb/rcb | 22 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 28 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| 2013 | 23 | STL | lb/LCB | 22 | 16 | 12 | 3 | 36 | 0 | 29 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 2014 | 24 | STL | lb/lcb | 22 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 69 | 1 | 43 | 6 | 33 | 3 | 3 | |||||||
| 2015 | 25 | STL | LCB | 22 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 136 | 1 | 58 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 13 | 7 | ||
| 2016 | 26 | LAR | LCB | 22 | 14 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 10 | 5 | ||
| 2017 | 27 | LAR | LCB | 22 | 16 | 15 | 2 | 39 | 1 | 39 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 8 | 7 | ||
| Career | 85 | 62 | 18 | 284 | 3 | 58 | 67 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 281 | 46 | 30 |
Here is a guy that is always around the football. Being 27 years old he is just entering the prime of his career. At 6-1, he fits the Jets system like a glove. He likes to blitz as we all know, so he needs big, physical cornerbacks that can handle the outside one on one. Johnson is that type of guy.
Johnson is a complete player, take a look at the tape:
Trumaine Johnson is a player that makes plays. He uses his hands to bother the receiver and can read the quarterback’s eyes to make a play. His hands are special. Just look at the catches he makes. He has the hands of a wide receiver which is something we don’t often say about a defensive back at any position.
The Jets need a player like this to allow Adams and Maye to roam around and do their thing.
Spotrac sets Johnson’s market value at $13.6 million per year on average. Last season he made over $16 million for the Rams. Like we talked about earlier, even with Cousins in the fold the Jets can handle one more elite free agent contract. Johnson should be that guy.