Titans and Johnson Continue to Play Chicken

Chris Johnson and Joel Segal, Johsnon’s agent, met with Tennessee Titans execs on Wednesday to see if they could strike a deal that everyone would be happy with. No such deal was made and it seems at this point, both sides are playing chicken, just waiting to see who will scare first.

Both Johnson and the Titans are in a lose-lose situation. Johnson wants to play for the Titans, and needs to play for them, but he wants $30 million to do it, and he’s probably even worth that. The Titans on the other hand, also need Johnson to play for them; he is the best running back in the league. But, they don’t want to pay that much. Should Johnson play for them this year, as per the two-year contract that he’s currently under with the team, he will receive $800,000. That’s a big drop from $30 mil, and it’s taking a big risk for Johnson should he become hurt and walk away with that small sum of money when he’s worth so much more.

But, the Titans won’t trade Johnson and they’re going to hold him to his two-year contract with no chance of a trade. That means that even should Johnson choose to sit out the year, at whatever time he returns to the league, he must play out those two years with the Titans. So really, he takes the $800,000 or he never plays football again.

So who’s going to flinch first? From Wednesday’s meeting in Nashville, it’s hard to say. But if the Titans want to see Johnson on the field, and if Johnson ever hopes of having a football career again, someone’s going to have to give. It’s just a matter of time until we see who that is.

Categorized in: NFL