Ty Johnson injury: Former Jets RB reveals dark truth about franchise’s treatment towards him
Ty Johnson used to play for the New York Jets. How he ended up as a free agent without an NFL home may be surprising. While it's no surprise that the Jets, who have Breece Hall and Michael Carter (not to mention Zonovan Knight) were hesitant to keep another backup running back, what he alleges they did to him is surprising.
According to Johnson, he suffered an injury while working out. He tore his pectoral muscle and told the team doctors. They allegedly told him to fix it and cut him after he did just that.
Update: RB Ty Johnson, formerly of the #Jets, suffered a Torn Pec injury while working out. He says the team told him to "Fix it" but cut him the next day after he did.
"I’ve had some Dark, dark days, man.”
"Told them [about the injury]. I told them even before this, I was… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/r0aqr6pUY1
Per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman, Johnson said:
"I’ve had some dark, dark days, man, like obviously went to New York, told them, I told them before even reporting, I was like: ‘Hey, I was working out, this what happened’, saw the team doctor, he said ‘you need to get it fixed.’ Flew out the next day, come back happy that I got it done, even though I didn’t want to get it done. That following Wednesday, you’re outta there! I was like damn. At the end of the day like I know I'm gonna be alright, I know God got my back and just keep moving forward man."
This happened over the off-season. The Jets cited a "non-football injury" as their reasoning for releasing the back. He was shipped out roughly a month after he initially signed a one-year deal.
Where could Ty Johnson go next?
Serviceable NFL running backs are not all that difficult to find, which is why some find it challenging to get signed. Even Ezekiel Elliott remains a free agent at this stage.
This could make it very difficult for Ty Johnson to rebound. After his untimely departure from the Jets and with his injury, teams may not give him a second thought.
As unfortunate as it is, the timing of all this is not ideal for Johnson. While he's certainly talented, finding a new job in the NFL may prove to be his biggest challenge yet.