The Tennessee Titans have acquired Jermaine Johnson from the New York Jets for T’Vondre Sweat.

This is the first major move for the Titans since they hired former Jets head coach Robert Saleh. 

The Titans ranked No. 30 in defense in 2025. Under defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, the Titans focused on having a strong secondary. 

On Feb. 4, the Titans hired Gus Bradley to be their new defensive coordinator. Bradley’s defensive system is more balanced, focusing on preventing big plays. 

Johnson is a versatile defender. He has a mix of speed, power and length that is necessary from a linebacker in a balanced scheme like Bradley’s.

Johnson was drafted with the No. 26 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Many draft experts had him going in the top 10. The Jets were able to draft him toward the end of the first round, which many experts considered a steal.

In 2023, he made the Pro Bowl with 55 tackles and 11 tackles for loss. 2024 and 2025 were injury-riddled seasons for Johnson. He played just two games in 2024 and 14 games in 2025.

Despite injuries, Johnson still averaged three tackles a game in 2025, around the same as his 2023 averages. However, the one stat that noticeably declined was his quarterback hits. In 2023, he had 16 quarterback hits, compared to just six in 2025. The passive defensive scheme of Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks could be the cause of this decline. 

During his Pro Bowl season in 2023, he was in a versatile defensive scheme under defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. This scheme is similar to Bradley’s, giving fans an idea of how Johnson will be used. 

This trade will not officially go through until the beginning of the new league year on March 11.