INDIANAPOLIS — The draft board just shattered. General managers nursing morning coffees at the NFL Scouting Combine woke up to a shockwave: the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans executed a rare, straight-up player swap. New York is shipping 2022 first-round edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II to Tennessee in exchange for 366-pound defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. The paperwork is filed, though the league office will not make it official until the new league year opens on March 11. The move immediately unloads a massive salary cap hit for the Jets while giving Titans head coach Robert Saleh a trusted weapon for his defensive front.
Scheme Shifts and Salary Cap Gymnastics
You could practically feel the tension snap across the convention center floor as the details leaked. The Jets dumped Johnson’s looming $13.4 million fifth-year option, swallowing Sweat’s highly affordable $1.7 million cap hit instead. Head coach Aaron Glenn gets a massive, run-stuffing anchor for his evolving defense. Sweat ate double teams alive during his time in Nashville, logging 85 tackles and three sacks across 29 games. He brings sheer physical force to a New York unit desperate for interior beef following Quinnen Williams’ departure last season.
Tennessee takes the financial hit but secures a premier edge threat. Saleh demands lightning-fast ends who can crash the pocket, and Sweat simply did not fit the profile of a 4-3 penetrating tackle. Enter Johnson. The 27-year-old reunites with Saleh, the coach who drafted him 26th overall back in 2022. Johnson built a formidable resume under Saleh, highlighted by a 2023 Pro Bowl campaign featuring 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. A brutal Achilles tear in Week 2 of the 2024 season derailed his trajectory, and he struggled to find his footing last year in a new system, managing only three sacks and 35 pressures in 14 games. Saleh is betting heavily that familiar turf will reignite his former star.
“New York, thank you for everything truly. The love I’ve been shown here for the past 4-5 years has been nothing short of amazing, both on and off the field. Y’all will always hold a special place in my heart. Thank all of y’all for sharing a battlefield with me… 11 out.”
— Jermaine Johnson II, Edge Rusher (via X)
Draft Implications / What’s Next
This trade violently shakes up the top five picks in the upcoming April draft. The Jets now sit at No. 2 with a glaring, neon-lit hole on the edge. Expect them to aggressively target top-tier rushers like Ohio State’s Arvell Reese or Texas Tech’s David Bailey. They cleared the deck and grabbed their interior anchor in Sweat; now they need a pure quarterback hunter.
For Tennessee, holding the No. 4 pick, the pressure to reach for a rookie edge rusher instantly evaporates. General Manager Mike Borgonzi can now evaluate a deep free-agent edge class—featuring names like Trey Hendrickson and Odafe Oweh—without acting out of desperation. The Titans will likely pivot their draft focus to fortifying their secondary or adding a blue-chip wide receiver to round out the roster.
