Jermaine Johnson II Thanks Jets After Having 5th-Year Contract Option Exercised

After a torn Achilles cost him the majority of the 2024 season, New York Jets defensive end Jermaine Johnson II still received a show of good faith from the team.

Johnson announced Wednesday that the team picked up his option for the 2026 season:

The fifth-year option on Johnson's rookie contract is scheduled to pay him $13.4 million.

Jets general manager Darren Mougey said earlier this offseason that the team intended to exercise the fifth-year options for Johnson and fellow 2022 first-round draft picks Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson.

Johnson suffered his season-ending Achilles tear in Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans and was limited to just four tackles in 2024. The lost season was especially disappointing considering he was coming off a productive second year in the NFL that earned him a selection to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.

In 2023, Johnson played in all 17 games and recorded 55 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, seven passes defended, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception that he returned for a 37-yard touchdown. The Jets are surely hoping that he will be able to return to that level of production when he's back at full strength.

Johnson landed in New York as part of the team's star-studded 2022 draft class. Despite being considered one of the top defensive end prospects, he inexplicably tumbled down the draft board, and the Jets seized the opportunity to trade back into the first round to select him with the No. 26 pick.

New York had already landed cornerback Sauce Gardner with the No. 4 pick and wide receiver Garrett Wilson at No. 10, and it followed the Johnson pick by selecting running back Breece Hall near the top of the second round, giving the team new franchise cornerstones on both sides of the ball.

Unfortunately, the influx of young talent has done little to turn the Jets' luck around. New York went 5-12 in 2024 and missed the playoffs for the 14th straight year, the longest active drought in any of the four major men's North American sports leagues. Head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas were both fired before the end of the season and were eventually replaced by former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Mougey, who will now be tasked with ending the Jets' disappointing run of futility.

The new regime will have more tough decisions to make over the next few months, but committing to Johnson for another year is a positive step that should provide some optimism for a bright future in New York.