Jets continue defensive teardown with Jermaine Johnson trade
The New York Jets have traded away yet another former first-rounder as they send pass rusher Jermaine Johnson to the Titans in exchange for T’Vondre Sweat.
The New York Jets have agreed to send pass rusher Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat, a move that can’t become official until the start of the new league year in March.
Trade: the New York Jets are sending DE Jermaine Johnson to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for DT T'Vondre Sweat, per ESPN sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 26, 2026
The trade cannot be processed until the start of the new league year in March. pic.twitter.com/PzdYW9JeZ1
Johnson becomes the third former first-round defensive cornerstone the Jets have traded away in the last four months, joining Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams in a stunning roster reshuffle.
That trio once represented the backbone of the franchise - young, disruptive and drafted to define a new era of Jets football. Now, all three are gone.
Johnson, a 2023 Pro Bowler with 13 career sacks, was entering the fifth-year option of his rookie deal and slated for free agency in 2027. Moving him now suggests the Jets either weren’t prepared to pay his next contract or didn’t see him as a long-term pillar.
In return, New York gets Sweat, a 24-year-old, 366-pound interior presence who was Tennessee’s top run-stuffer last season. It’s a stylistic pivot from edge explosion to interior mass.
For Tennessee, the move makes sense. The Titans add a proven edge rusher entering his prime years, signaling they value pass-rush disruption over pure interior size.
For the Jets, however, the bigger question is what exactly are they building? Trading one first-round defender can be strategic. Trading three in one season could signal a philosophical shift, a cap reset, or the early stages of yet another rebuild.
And if it is a reset, it’s one of the most dramatic defensive overhauls in the league so far this year.
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