Former Jets RB Chris Johnson claims team lied about what his role would be
Former New York Jets running back Chris Johnson blamed ex-general manager John Idzik for lying about the role he would have on the team during the 2014 season.
Johnson said on "The Rich Eisen Show" that he "went into a situation where [he] was told one thing and it was another." The running back claims former coach Rex Ryan told him before he signed that he would be a large part of the Jets offense, but instead, Idzik was "calling the shots."
From an ESPN.com transcript:
"Throughout the whole thing, I think last year, with that organization, I think a lot of the stuff was out of Rex's hands," Johnson said. "A lot of the things that we were doing I think it was out of Rex's hands. Don't nobody know, but it was a [bad] situation."
"That's just what it was. It was never a type of thing where I was just being outplayed or anything like that. It was never a situation where I got the opportunity to show my talents and be used the way that I was supposed to be used."
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On Saturday, the Jets announced that Johnson will become an unrestricted free agent on March 10 after the team declined to pick up the 2015 option on his contract.
In 16 games last season, Johnson ran for 663 yards and one touchdown on 155 carries.
In his first six seasons in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans, Johnson ran for at least 1,000 yards. In 2009, Johnson finished the regular season with 2,006 rushing yards.
The Jets finished the 2014 season at 4-12 and fourth in the AFC East. After firing Idzik and Ryan, the team hired Mike Maccagnan and Todd Bowles.
