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Ex-Jet Ty Johnson Tells His Story about Oddly-Timed Release
It was certainly odd timing when it happened.
The New York Jets officially re-signed Ty Johnson on March 28. Then, one month later, they gave him his pink slip.
On April 26, ESPN's Field Yates reported that Gang Green released the backup running back, who doubled as a core special teamer, with a non-football injury designation.
Now, Johnson is speaking out about the incident and it's creating questions about the sometimes ugly "business side" of football.
Dov Kleiman, who runs an NFL-centric Twitter account and lists himself as an editor for @BroBible, tweeted that Johnson suffered a torn pectoral injury while working out away from the team.
Kleiman posted a video clip taken from Johnson's Instagram account, showing the melancholy former Maryland Terp telling his account of the story.
"I’ve had some Dark, dark days, man," said the 25-year old Johnson. "Told them [about the injury]. I told them even before this, I was like: ‘hey, was working out, [the torn pectoral] happened’ — saw the team doctor, he was like — ‘you need to get it fixed.’ Flew out the next day [to get surgery]. Came back happy that I got it done, even though I didn’t want to get it done. That following Wednesday, you’re outta there!"
A number of NFL players shared Kleiman's initial post and added their own thoughts. One of those tweeters was current Jets' starting quarterback DJ Reed, who wrote, "Off site injuries while working out should have some type of protection from the team. Same thing happened to me in San Fran."
Seattle Seahawks' safety Quandre Diggs also chimed in on Johnson's misfortune.
"Ty good people too man! Crazy business and heartless so don’t blame us when we about our business and looking out for ourselves," said Diggs through his @qdiggs6 Twitter handle.
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The 5-foot-10 Johnson appeared in 44 games for the Jets after they claimed him off waivers from the Lions in October 2020.
In 2022, Johnson played all 17 games for Gang Green and made one start. The reserve running back averaged 5.3 yards per carry in limited opportunities on offense and logged 192 special teams snaps.
During his 62-game NFL career, Johnson has rushed 208 times for 925 yards. The fifth-year pro has 668 receiving yards on 86 catches. He has seven total touchdowns (4 rush, 3 rec).
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