Titans agree to trade NT T'Vondre Sweat to Jets for DE Jermaine Johnson; jermaine johnson set to reunite with Robert Saleh
The New York Jets and Tennessee Titans have agreed on a trade that sends edge rusher jermaine johnson II to Tennessee in exchange for nose tackle T'Vondre Sweat, with reporter Tom Pelissero revealing the deal on Thursday. The transaction cannot be consummated until the new league year opens on March 11, a timing detail that will govern both clubs' roster moves this offseason.
Trade mechanics: players, timing and reporting
The Jets are trading Jermaine Johnson II to the Titans for T'Vondre Sweat, reporter Tom Pelissero said Thursday. League rules prevent the clubs from finalizing the swap until the new league year opens on March 11. The move was characterized in coverage as a rare February trade agreement.
How Jermaine Johnson fits back with Robert Saleh in Tennessee
The deal reunites Jermaine Johnson with new Titans head coach Robert Saleh; Saleh was in New York when the Jets used a first-round pick on the edge rusher in 2022. Tennessee hired Saleh as its new head coach after going 3-14 in 2025, and bringing Johnson in restores a link between the coach and a former draft choice.
Johnson’s recent production, injury history and Pro Bowl season
Johnson's tenure in New York has been uneven: he generated 13. 0 total sacks across four seasons and earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2023 after recording 7. 5 sacks, 16 quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a pick-six. He tore his Achilles tendon two games into the 2024 campaign, an injury that wiped out all but two tilts that season. He returned to play 14 games last season but managed three sacks and six quarterback hits, receiving a 61 overall grade that ranked 78th among 115 qualified defensive ends on Pro Football Focus.
T'Vondre Sweat’s profile and Tennessee’s defensive priorities
Tennessee acquires Sweat, a 6-foot-4, 366-pound former second-round pick who is noted for eating up blockers. Sweat tallied 34 tackles and two sacks for Tennessee last season and has three sacks in two NFL seasons overall. The move adds beef to the middle of Aaron Glenn's defense, which struggled against the run, and increases Tennessee's flexibility to deploy free-agent money along the defensive line; coverage of the trade even floated the possibility of a reunion with John Franklin-Myers as part of that broader front-office thinking.
What the Jets gain and roster implications for the 2026 draft
Moving Johnson underscores the likelihood that the Jets will use the No. 2 overall pick on a rookie edge rusher. The franchise can rebuild with a dozen picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, including the No. 2 and No. 16 overall selections. Names mentioned as potential No. 2 edge options in draft-related coverage include Texas Tech's David Bailey, Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. and Ohio State's Arvell Reese. The trade also continues a larger Jets defensive overhaul: earlier in the season the team sent All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts and star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys before the trade deadline.
Additional league notes and combine-era developments
Several other items from recent league coverage and combine reporting appeared alongside the trade news. The Indianapolis Colts granted quarterback Anthony Richardson permission to seek a trade, and the Minnesota Vikings expressed interest, a development Cameron Wolfe. Miami edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. had his arms measured at 30 and 7/8 inches at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine; Bain later said that NFL clubs do not appear overly focused on the matter. The prevailing assumption about Trey Hendrickson's future in Cincinnati was questioned when Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin declined to etch that outcome in stone.
Other offseason items noted: veteran Mike Evans could test the market after 13 seasons, with his agent Deryk Gilmore saying Evans intends to see what his market looks like. Coach Klint Kubiak of the Las Vegas Raiders discussed presumptive No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza and praised the quarterback's winning mentality. Landon Dickerson, a three-time Pro Bowler in five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, indicated he is returning to play in 2026 in a social media post that showed him running onto the field through the tunnel at Lincoln Financial Field.
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said he values the familiarity offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has with Cam Ward, joking that Daboll even tried to convince him to let the quarterback fall beyond No. 1 in the 2025 draft. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel did not rule out the possibility of trading for Eagles wide receiver A. J. Brown when asked at the scouting combine, saying New England would look at everything to improve the roster. Those items, along with the Johnson–Sweat swap, framed a busy stretch of roster and draft planning for multiple clubs.
Photograph and game excerpt tied to Johnson
An image from Oct. 19, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey captured New York Jets linebacker Jermaine Johnson celebrating a defensive stop in the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium; the photo credit listed Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.
