Bills' RB Ty Johnson: Veteran Enters Contract Year Ranked as Buffalo's No. 25 Player

As the team enjoys its summer break, Bills On SI will unveil its Top 25 Player Rankings (based upon expected impact) for the 2026 season. RB Ty Johnson kicks off the countdown at No. 25.

The Buffalo Bills have one of the deepest running back rooms in the NFL.

Lost in the shuffle between James Cook, the NFL's leading rusher in 2025, and Ray Davis, an All-Pro return specialist, however, is a player who will be entering his fourth season in Buffalo.

Ty Johnson, an eighth-year running back, may be entrenched between a rock and a hard place when it comes to head coach Joe Brady finding ways to use him because of the multiple appetizing options in the Bills' running backs stable, but Johnson has carved out a role for himself.

With Johnson's contract set to expire after the season, he will be hard-pressed to showcase what he can do to prove he still has a place on the Bills' roster in 2027 and beyond.

Why is Johnson so important?

Johnson has played about 29% of the Bills' offensive snaps in 2025, averaging four yards per carry on the dot on 50 rushing attempts as part of the NFL's best rushing offense.

Overall, Johnson has carried the ball 121 times for 545 yards and four touchdowns while adding 49 catches for 609 yards and six more scores in his three seasons in Buffalo. However, running the ball isn't his area of expertise.

On third downs, Johnson is a valuable asset in the passing game. Not only can he catch passes out of the backfield, but he has also become an effective pass-blocker for quarterback Josh Allen in passing situations, being able to pick up blitzing defenders and give time for him to throw.

With the offensive line seeing a key departure in left guard David Edwards to the New Orleans Saints, Johnson's pass-blocking abilities will become more critical. Also, with Cook coming off a career-high 309 carries, Johnson's running ability will be useful as well.

Johnson's background

Nov 16, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Bills running back Ty Johnson (26) runs the ball against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first quarter of the game at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Johnson was born in Cumberland, Maryland on September 17, 1997 and was a two-time Cumberland Times-News Area High School Football Player of the Year at Fort Hill High School. He was a three-star prospect and the 20th-best prospect in the state of Maryland and signed with the Maryland Terrapins, the only FBS program he received an offer from, in 2015.

Johnson was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, and he spent his rookie season and two games of his second with them before being picked up on waivers by the New York Jets, whom Johnson player for over the course of three seasons.

Buffalo initially signed Johnson to two consecutive one-year contracts in 2023 and 2024 before being inked to a two-year, $5-million contract in 2025.

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