| Current team | Tennessee Titans |
|---|---|
| Number | 11 |
| Position | Linebacker |
| Birth date | January 7, 1999 (age 27) |
| Birth place | Eden Prairie, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft |
| Height in | 5 |
| Weight lbs | 254 |
| High school | Eden Prairie |
| College |
|
| Draftyear | 2022 |
| Draftround | 1 |
| Draftpick | 26 |
| Pastteams |
|
| Status | Active |
| Highlights |
|
| Statseason | 2025 |
| Statlabel 1 | Total tackles |
| Statvalue 1 | 131 |
| Statlabel 2 | Sacks |
| Statvalue 2 | 13.0 |
| Statlabel 3 | Forced fumbles |
| Statvalue 3 | 1 |
| Statlabel 4 | Fumble recoveries |
| Statvalue 4 | 1 |
| Statlabel 5 | Pass deflections |
| Statvalue 5 | 9 |
| Statlabel 6 | Interceptions |
| Statvalue 6 | 1 |
| Statlabel 7 | Defensive touchdowns |
| Statvalue 7 | 1 |
| Pfr | JohnJe07 |
Jermaine Curtis Johnson II (born January 7, 1999) is an American professional football linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida State Seminoles, where he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He also played junior college football for the Independence Pirates. Johnson was selected by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Early life
Johnson grew up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and attended Eden Prairie High School. As a senior, he was named All-Metro after recording 37 tackles and seven sacks.[1] Johnson was academically ineligible to play NCAA Division I football after graduation.[2]
College career
Johnson began his collegiate career at Independence Community College.[3] While at Independence, he was featured in the fourth season of the Netflix documentary series Last Chance U, where he played under head coach Jason Brown.[4] As a freshman, he had 58 tackles, eight sacks and three forced fumbles.[5] Johnson transferred to the University of Georgia following the season.[6]
Johnson played in every game for the Georgia Bulldogs as a sophomore, where he had 20 tackles and 2.5 sacks.[7] As a senior, he finished third on the team with four sacks with 16 total tackles and 11 quarterback hurries.[8] Towards the end of the season, Johnson entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Florida State University for his final season of NCAA eligibility.[9] Johnson had seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in his first game for the Florida State Seminoles, a 41–38 overtime loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week.[10][11] He was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-ACC after he finished the season with 70 tackles and led the ACC with 18 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.[12]
Professional career
New York Jets
Johnson was selected in the first round with the 26th overall pick by the New York Jets in the 2022 NFL draft.[13] In week 14, against the Buffalo Bills, he blocked a punt that resulted in a safety.[14] As a rookie, he appeared in 14 games and recorded 2.5 sacks and 29 total tackles.[15] In week 17 of the 2023 season, he had 37-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Browns.[16] In the 2023 season, he started in all 17 games. He finished with 7.5 sacks, 55 total tackles, one interception, seven passes defended, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.[17]
On September 16, 2024, Johnson announced that he had suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the Jets' week 2 game against the Tennessee Titans, and would miss the remainder of the season as a result.[18]
On April 21, 2025, the Jets picked up the fifth-year option on Johnson's contract.[19]
Tennessee Titans
On March 12, 2026, Johnson was traded to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for T'Vondre Sweat.[20]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Sfty | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2022 | NYJ | 14 | 0 | 29 | 18 | 11 | 2.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | NYJ | 17 | 17 | 55 | 36 | 19 | 7.5 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NYJ | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | NYJ | 14 | 13 | 43 | 22 | 21 | 3.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 47 | 32 | 131 | 80 | 51 | 13.0 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
References
- ^ Shaver, Randy (November 18, 2016). "KARE 11 All-Metro Team 2016: Defense". KARE.com. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Sudge, Brandon (December 20, 2018). "How Jermaine Johnson went from Kansas to Georgia Bulldogs". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Johnson, Bailey (December 9, 2020). "Linebacker Jermaine Johnson is coming into his own for Georgia". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Paschall, David (December 20, 2019). "Jermaine Johnson adjusts from 'Last Chance U' stardom to limitations at Georgia". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Nemec, Andrew (July 10, 2018). "Jermaine Johnson, nation's No. 2 JC DE, includes Oregon Ducks in top 5". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Hill, Jordan D. (August 3, 2018). "Four-star defensive end Jermaine Johnson commits to Georgia". Miami Herald. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Fuller, Marcus (September 12, 2020). "From 'Last Chance' to big chance for Eden Prairie's Jermaine Johnson at Georgia". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Weiszer, Marc (December 15, 2020). "UGA football LB Jermaine Johnson plans transfer". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Fernandez, Andre C. (July 22, 2021). "Jermaine Johnson II leading revitalization of Florida State defensive line". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Megargee, Steve (September 17, 2021). "Prospect watch: FSU's Johnson capitalizing on expanded role". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Weiler, Curt (September 7, 2021). "FSU defensive end Jermaine Johnson named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
- ^ Murschel, Matt (December 1, 2021). "FSU's Jermaine Johnson II named ACC Defensive Player of the Year". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
- ^ Greenberg, Ethan (April 29, 2022). "Jets Select Florida State Edge Jermaine Johnson II with No. 26 Pick of 2022 NFL Draft". NewYorkJets.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ^ Lange, Randy (December 17, 2022). "Jermaine Johnson Enters the Safety Zone". New York Jets. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ^ "Jermaine Johnson 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ^ Werner, Barry (2023-12-28). "Browns, Jets trade pick-sixes in the first half". Touchdown Wire. USA Today. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ "Jermaine Johnson II 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
- ^ Cimini, Rich (2024-09-16). "Jets DE Johnson announces he has torn Achilles". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
- ^ Smith, Michael David (April 21, 2025). "Jets to pick up fifth-year options on Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Jermaine Johnson II". Pro Football Talk. NBC Sports. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
- ^ Wyatt, Jim (March 12, 2026). "It's Official: Titans Acquire Edge Rusher Jermaine Johnson – in Exchange for NT T'Vondre Sweat – in Trade With Jets". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved March 12, 2026.