Chris Johnson a Fit With the Dolphins?

Chris Johnson, also known as “CJ2K” earned is nicknamed due to his two-thousand yard rushing season he had in 2009 with the Tennessee Titans. Since then, Johnson has quietly ran for 1,000+ yards every season throughout his career, except for last year.

Johnson, who is likely going to hit the free-agent market after a brief stint with the New York Jets, might not draw as much attention as other free agents, but he can still have a substantial impact on the right team.

Last season, Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Jets as he primarily backed up Jets’ starting running back Chris Ivory. After the season, Johnson reported he was “lied to” about his role on offense and was expecting more of a starting role. Johnson only started six games last season and rushed for 663 yards, the  lowest of his six year career.

Now that Johnson knows he does not want to be a Jet next season, there are several teams that come to mind when looking at where Johnson could sign. This list includes the Oakland Raiders, Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens.

The Oakland Raiders, a team that has had troubles with the running back position has desperately tried to fill the vacancy, including contracts with Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew. With McFadden likely hitting free-agency and an aging Maurice Jones-Drew, I see the Raiders going to free-agency or the draft to help the Raiders offense.

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For the Minnesota Vikings, there are a variety of factors weighting into their need for a running back. According to the Bleacher Report, Adrian Peterson has requested a trade to the Dallas Cowboys, a move that would shake up the Cowboys’ strategy regarding resigning DeMarco Murray. If the Vikings trade Peterson, the Vikings depth at running back goes to Jerick McKinnon. I could see the Vikings pursuing Johnson to give them a veteran on their young offense.

For the Dolphins, they had their first 1,000 yard rusher since Reggie Bush last season. Lamar Miller, who took over the Dolphin’s starting position following Knowshon Moreno’s injury, put together an impressive season with the Dolphins. With Moreno likely departing, the Dolphins could use a quick running back to back up Miller when he’s worn out.

It would be great to see Johnson revitalize his career with a team trying to make a playoff push. Johnson will be entering his seventh season in the NFL and is coming off of his worst year of his career, but he thinks he still has some left in the tank. Johnson has explosiveness on the edges to break big runs and has the ability to get out of the backfield and become a target for Tannehill. As much as I would like to see Johnson in a Dolphin’s jersey, it may be a long shot come free-agency due to the Dolphin’s other needs.

As for the Colts and Ravens, I see both of these teams going through the draft to fill the running back position. With quality backs in both Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon, both teams could find their running back within the first two rounds of the Draft in April. If one (or both) of these teams do not fill their need in the draft, Johnson can provide insurance as a quality role-player.

According to Yahoo.com, Johnson is ranked at the 15th spot in this year’s free agent running backs ranking, which could make him a cheap buy for any of these teams. Regardless, Johnson feels as though he didn’t get a fair showing in New York last season and would like to show he can get over the 1,000 yard mark.