Trumaine Johnson's Insubordinate Behavior With Jets Is Inexcusable

Trumaine Johnson had to know what he was getting himself into when he signed a five-year, $72.5 million deal with the New York Jets.

At the time, their best quarterback was Josh McCown. It was becoming clear New York would draft a rookie quarterback. But let’s not pretend the Jets looked like a team that would win the AFC East in 2019. And if they flopped, Todd Bowles’ job wasn’t going to be safe.

Probably with knowledge of all that, Johnson signed on the dotted line to become a leader of the organization. At least, that’s a perfect-world scenario. When a team shells out for a big name in free agency, they surely hope he can be a leader. And at the very least, they expect him to show up for work, because there’s no bigger reminder than free agency that the NFL is a business.

Instead, Johnson is demonstrating insubordination and a lack of professionalism. The star cornerback missed meetings and practice time in preparation for Week 17, according to ESPN.

On some level, Johnson has a right to be frustrated. If he liked Bowles, who will reportedly get fired after the Jets’ regular-season finale, Johnson’s insubordination could be an act of support for his soon-to-be-former coach. That rationale would point the blame at the Jets’ front office for waiting to fire Bowles, which is what allowed New York to come unravelled in this final week of the regular season. But let’s not let Johnson off easy. He may get benched for Week 17, which would be his last chance to show support for Bowles.

Above all, this is Johnson’s job, and if he expects to get paid (especially as much as Johnson is getting paid this year), he needs to show up to work. It’s that simple. And perhaps it’s having an impact down the roster, with fellow cornerback Darryl Roberts showing up late for scheduled events.

With so much turnover and adversity, it would be a good time for a leader to step up for the Jets. Clearly, that’s not Johnson.