Titans waive Stafon Johnson, will land on IR
Running back Stafon Johnson has been waived by the Tennessee Titans following a horrible injury suffered in the team’s preseason opener. The Titans waived him and he will likely land on injured reserve which would end his season. Johnson had hoped he would still be able to play this year, but the Titans couldn’t hold a roster spot for him that long and signed Samkon Gado.
Johnson suffered a life-threatening injury last year in college when a barbell landed on his neck, forcing him to learn how to speak again. Johnson missed his last season at USC and went undrafted this year before the Tennessee Titans gave him a shot at a roster spot.
Johnson looked good in his NFL debut before suffering a gruesome-looking injury when he dislocated his ankle. It looked as though his foot took a complete 180-degree turn as his leg stayed straight. Johnson was carted off the field and is expected to be out at least up to 12 weeks. That would be into November and the team has several running backs competing for a roster spot and the team couldn’t keep Johnson around when it’s uncertain if he’ll play.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he underwent “major reconstructive surgery” making a possible return this season sound fairly unlikely. Hopefully Johnson will get another chance next year. In his short time in the game against Seattle, he had three carries for 23 yards and two receptions for 19 yards, proving he’s capable of playing at the NFL level. His luck has just not been good to him in the last year.
Johnson still remains in good spirits. He feels he was still fortunate that he didn’t die from his injuries suffered in the weight room last year: "I was supposed to have been gone,” he said. He also went on to say that compared to what he’s been through, he can handle his latest setback.
“Even though I had some down times where I didn’t know how I was going to make it or what I was going to do for the rest of my life, I’m here now,” he said. “All the stuff I did that I got to this point, I’m happy, but I’m mad that it came down to this. But at the end of the day I’m good. It’s common injury, something a lot of people have come through and came out productive. For the most part I am very encouraged.”
It’s truly remarkable that Johnson has been able to maintain a positive attitude even with all his hard luck. He feels that he will come back next year and get to the level he wants to be at.
“I’m very confident,” he said. “All I needed was the confidence from my coaches, to have that in me to know that ‘we’re going to keep him around to rehab it and see what he has for next year.’ And I’m very confident in that.”
The Titans have given Johnson a chance to prove himself and Fisher says that the Titans haven’t given up on him in fact they are very confident in him. Johnson should land on reserve, meaning he’ll earn his pay and will get a chance to play next season. If there's any consolation for Titans fans and Johnson, it's that he's faced adversity before and come back from much worse.
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