WATCH: Struggling CB Trumaine Johnson a cautionary tale for Jets
When the New York Jets inked cornerback Trumaine Johnson to a massive five-year, $72.5 million deal in 2018, he was expected to be the solution to the franchise's recurring cornerback carousel.
Two games into his second season with the Jets, the best solution has been one that's largely made the eighth-year defender a non-factor on game day, however.
After playing all 69 defensive snaps against the Buffalo Bills, Johnson didn't even see the field until 3:27 left in the fourth quarter of Monday night's loss to the Cleveland Browns.
"We just decided not to play him," Jets head coach Adam Gase said.
Aside from a deflating 89-yard touchdown from Odell Beckham Jr., the cornerback play looked vastly improved with Nate Hairston inserted in Johnson's place.
Further complicating the cornerback landscape is the fact that Johnson is one of the highest paid cornerbacks in football. His lucrative contract makes him extremely difficult to unload without significant financial ramifications.
As it stands, the 6-foot-2, 213-pound defensive back is on the books for an $8 million salary this season, so a trade is unlikely. Even if the Jets wanted to facilitate a trade, it's highly improbable the team would find a suitor for the struggling cornerback.
Due to his hefty salary, Johnson is a lock to survive his second season with the Jets, as the cap hit would be far too severe to cut bait this early into the deal.
Should the Jets release Johnson prior to June 1, the team would incur a dead money charge of $12 million. So, in other words, he'll almost assuredly be back for at least one more season in Florham Park.
The following season, however, the team would incur an $8 million cap hit -- but save $9 million.
Before the catastrophic start to his Jets tenure, Johnson was widely regarded as one the league's premier up-and-coming cornerbacks heading into free agency.
He was coming off three productive seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, accumulating 193 tackles, 42 passes defended, 10 interceptions and 2 touchdowns.
When Johnson signed the lucrative contract with the Jets in Mar. 2018, it appeared that the team's storied cornerback conundrum had finally been solved. The expectation was that he would team with safety Jamal Adams to solidify a vulnerable Jets secondary.
Instead, Johnson missed five games due to injury and was benched for the season finale for being late to meetings.
This season was supposed to be different, however.
Reunited with his former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the stage was set for Johnson to redirect his course and take the league by storm. After all, it was under Williams' tuteledge that Johnson enjoyed his best seasons as a pro.
Whatever offseason optimism surrounded Johnson has all but faded after just two games, with his most recent benching coming on the heels of an uneven Week 1 performance.
On 8 targets, Johnson surrendered 7 completions for 110 yards.
While on the surface it appeared he'd merely had a poor showing in the season opening loss, beneath the surface revealed lackadaisical play, a plethora of mental errors and a poorly timed penalty.
Simply stated, the Jets haven't gotten much of a return on their steep investment.
With the reeling Jets (0-2) heading up to Foxborough to take on the surging New England Patriots (2-0) on Sunday, it is unclear whether or not their supposed top cornerback will even have a chance at redemption.
"I think you just go out and have a good week at practice," Gase said. "That's what we tell everybody. It's just every week, start over. We want everybody to practice the way that we need them to practice and get ready for this game. And whatever the inactives are, or however we do the depth chart, it starts over every week."
