Rich CiminiFeb 26, 2026, 10:06 AM ET
- Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University.
The Jets and Titans agreed to a rare player-for-player trade Thursday, with New York sending pass rusher Jermaine Johnson to Tennessee for defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The trade can't be processed until the start of the league year on March 11.
The deal marks the latest move in a protracted teardown of a once-formidable defense for the Jets, who also traded away defensive stars Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams -- both former first-round draft picks -- in November.
Eight of the Jets' 11 first-round picks from 2015 to 2022 have been traded.
Johnson acknowledged the trade in a social media post later Thursday, saying New York "will always hold a special place in my heart."
New York, thank you for everything truly. The love I've been shown here for the past 4-5 years has been nothing short of amazing, both on and off the field. Y'all will always hold a special place in my heart. Wish all of my former coaches and former teammates the best!! Thank all...
— Jermaine Johnson II (@ii_jermaine) February 26, 2026Johnson will be reunited with Titans coach Robert Saleh, who coached the Jets when they selected Johnson with the 26th overall pick in the 2022 draft.
Johnson also will once again play under new Titans defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton, who was his position coach with the Jets his first three seasons.
Johnson, coming off a down year (three sacks), has only one year remaining on his contract and is due to make a guaranteed $13.4 million in 2026, the amount of his fifth-year option.
Johnson generated interest last season before the trade deadline, but the Jets opted to keep him for the remainder of the season. His departure reinforces the belief that the Jets will take an edge player with the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, with Ohio State's Arvell Reese and Texas Tech's David Bailey as the leading candidates.
In Sweat, the Jets are getting a 6-foot-2, 366-pound interior presence on a team-friendly contract. A second-round pick in 2024, he is signed through 2027 and will count only $1.7 million on the Jets' salary cap.
Scheme factored into the trade for both teams. The Jets, who could be using more 3-4 fronts, wanted to add more size up front. The opposite is true for Tennessee, where Saleh's scheme puts a premium on smaller, faster linemen.
Sweat, drafted 38th overall in 2024, posted 85 tackles and three sacks in 29 games for the Titans. He suffered an ankle injury in Tennessee's season-opening loss to the Broncos and missed five games last season.
The Titans are counting on Johnson regaining his form from 2023, when he posted a career-high 7.5 sacks and was named to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. His 2024 season didn't last long. In Week 2, at Tennessee, he tore an Achilles tendon and missed the remainder of the season.
Johnson rehabbed to make it back for the start of the 2025 season, but he didn't have the same burst as before the injury. In 14 games, he finished with only three sacks and six quarterback hits, later admitting his performance wasn't up to his standard. Both he and the team acknowledged that the Achilles injury probably affected his performance.
In four seasons -- 47 games -- with the Jets, Johnson has 13 sacks and 131 tackles.
ESPN's Turron Davenport contributed to this report.
