FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Jermaine Johnson has a pretty sweet plan for more sacks this season.
Actually, it's a bit unsweetened.
The New York Jets edge rusher is preparing to face the speedy and often elusive Lamar Jackson in Baltimore on Sunday after tweaking his usual routine.
“I've been doing extra running and staying off sugary drinks and stuff like that, getting ready for him,” a smiling Johnson said Thursday. “He's a very special player, but I have
all the confidence in all the guys in this locker room to get the job done.”
So, really? Johnson's cutting out sweet drinks this week to see if it might help him get to the quarterback more efficiently Sunday?
“Yeah,” Johnson said with a laugh. "It's more of a personal thing. I'm chasing after a lot of guys as the season's going on and I just want to shed off any kind of weight that's slowing me down. And turn those hurries or hits or pressures into sacks because I can do that.
“Especially since this is a guy, like we've been talking about this week, it's very important.”
The 6-foot-5, 254-pound Johnson has three sacks and five quarterback hits this season in his return from missing all but two games last season with a torn Achilles tendon. He also missed three games earlier this season with a sprained ankle.
“I think Jermaine just slowly but surely, dealing with the injury, coming back, and then all of the sudden having another setback, he’s getting back to his form,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said.
Johnson, a first-round pick in 2022, had a breakout second season when he had 7 1/2 sacks and was selected to the Pro Bowl. The first sack of his career — which he split with Jacob Martin — came in his NFL debut, coincidentally, against Jackson.
“It's super cool that that’s just the case,” Johnson said. “So, you know, I’m looking to get one or two more on Sunday against him.”
Jackson actually sat out practice Wednesday with an ankle ailment, but was back Thursday and appeared to be on track to play against the Jets.
The Ravens star was sacked five times last Sunday, including four by Myles Garrett, in Baltimore's 23-16 win at Cleveland. Johnson watched the videos of Garrett and the Browns' pass rush to see what he could glean from it.
“It definitely helps a lot,” Johnson said. “Myles is, again, very generational. He does things at a very elite and special level. So just being able to watch that and take that from the game, see how he approached those guys. And, yeah, you always want to take what you can from a performance like that and apply it to you.”
Johnson also knows that's a lot easier said than done, especially against a quarterback who has made a career out of being ultra slippery and elusive.
“You've just got to stay active, man,” Johnson said. "Stay active, high motor, keep going. Especially in the Cleveland game, I seen Myles getting after him and he’s just very active. It didn’t happen instantly on all of those. He’s very active, Lamar was extending the play and he ended up getting home.
“So just staying active, high motor and doing your job at a high level.”
Johnson was one of a few Jets players who took to social media last Sunday to ask for prayers for teammate Kris Boyd, who was shot in midtown Manhattan earlier that morning.
A post on Boyd’s Instagram account on Wednesday said he has started to breathe on his own as he recovers in the hospital.
“Yeah, my first thought was, I mean, he just had a child and I’m about to have a child and like many of my teammates and many of you, y’all have children and that was just my first thought,” Johnson said. "So I just wanted to pray and get that out there. I know prayers are very strong and the more people that send prayers his way, I know God’s going to do a great job with them and everything like that.
“But he texted me and that’s a big sigh of relief. So it’s good to get that text from him.”
Kick returner Kene Nwangwu was added to the injury report with a hamstring ailment that kept him out of practice.
Nwangwu missed four games after injuring a hamstring in the season opener and then sat out another game with a concussion. He returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in New York's 27-20 win over Cleveland on Nov. 9 and was selected the AFC's special teams player of the week.
Edge rusher Will McDonald (quadriceps) and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (foot) were limited after sitting out Wednesday.
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