Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson has not reported to training camp yet in protest of his contract which carries him through the next two seasons. There's no doubt he's underpaid, still playing off of his rookie deal, so his only leverage at this point is to hold out and pressure the Titans to give him a new deal.
Chris Johnson Continues Holdout From Titans Training Camp
Titans RB Chris Johnson continued his holdout from training camp on Tuesday and officially forfeited an accrued season towards free agency.
When he didn’t show for training camp on Tuesday, Aug. 9, he officially forfeited an accrued season to free agency. Players can’t become unrestricted free agents until their fourth season so, technically, CJ will be considered a third year player next year.
The reason that isn’t a very big deal is because he’s under contract for two more years. So even if he showed up this week in order to earn his accrued season toward free agency, he’s still under contract for two more seasons. He expects to get a new deal before then thus he had no real motivation to show up.
Some have wondered why it was important for Philadelphia Eagles WR DeSean Jackson to show up before Aug. 9, earning an accrued season, and not Johnson. The difference is that Jackson is entering the final year of his deal so he can hit free agency after this season only if he showed by Aug. 9 earning that accrued season. Johnson is under contract for two more years so even if he did show up he wouldn't be able to hit free agency for two more seasons.
So Johnson is holding out of Titans training camp for the moment. It’ll be interesting to see how long this lasts. Will the Titans reward him with a new deal? Will CJ take another band-aid bonus like he did last year?
This one could take a while, folks.
See More:
