Jets trade Jermaine Johnson to Titans for T'Vondre Sweat
The New York Jets traded jermaine johnson to the Tennessee Titans in a one-for-one swap for T'Vondre Sweat, a move that opens the 2026 trade season even though NFL free agency's legal negotiating window begins March 9. Reports noted the deal cannot be processed until the start of the league year on March 11.
Trade details: Jermaine Johnson
The swap sends the last of the Jets' three 2022 first-round picks, Jermaine Johnson, to Tennessee while New York receives defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat. The clubs executed a straightforward one-for-one exchange that commentators framed as the first big move of the offseason.
What Jets get: T'Vondre Sweat
T'Vondre Sweat, a 2024 second-round pick, has been a solid starting nose tackle for Tennessee and projects to help the Jets' run defense while providing some pass rush from the nose. Sweat's pass rush win rate at defensive tackle is 6. 5%, a figure described as below average for the position but not bad considering where he lines up. He will join a Jets interior group that includes Harrison Phillips and Jowon Briggs.
Seth Walder's grading criteria
analytics writer Seth Walder graded the deal as part of a wider evaluation of the offseason's biggest signings and trades. Walder said he weighed multiple factors including on-field impact, salary cap implications, compensation, player value and age, and the context of a team's short- and long-term outlooks. He asked how large the effect of the decision is, how sure we can be it's a good or bad choice, and how the move alters a team's chance to win the Super Bowl this season or in the future. Walder opened his grading with the Johnson-Sweat swap.
Contract figures and control
Johnson is playing on his fifth-year option and will cost Tennessee $13. 4 million, per OverTheCap. By contrast, Sweat has two years left on his rookie deal and will cost the Jets $1. 6 million and $2. 1 million in each of those years, respectively. Walder noted Sweat is younger and, in his view, more likely to be a plus contributor than Johnson, and the salary and additional year of team control made the swap well worth it for New York.
Performance, injury and context
Johnson produced one decent sack season in 2023, recording 7. 5 sacks en route to a Pro Bowl nod; that season came while he was playing for current Titans head coach Robert Saleh, a factor Walder suggested was critical to why the deal was made. Over his other three seasons in New York, Johnson managed only 5. 5 sacks and he played just three games in 2024 because of an Achilles injury. Advanced pass-rushing metrics have been unflattering for Johnson across his four-year career: a career pass rush win rate of 8. 4% (8. 9% last season) compared with an average 15. 6% for a starting edge in that span.
Reaction and wider notes
Commentary around the trade season has been animated; Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, Damien Woody and Stephen A. Smith called out Jets coach Aaron Glenn for claiming to have "playcalling superpowers. " The Jets were credited with two of the very best deals at last year's trade deadline, and Walder framed this swap as another shrewd move that kicked off the 2026 trade season.
The trade moves a clear roster piece to Tennessee and adds interior help for New York, while the deal cannot be finalized until the league year begins on March 11. Additional grade detail and placement of this move in Walder's list followed that opening evaluation.
