One of the most underrated players on the Ravens, or in the entire NFL for that matter, Jarret Johnson may no longer be a Raven next season.
Johnson saw his playing time decrease this season do to the emergence of pass rusher Paul Kruger. Also, the Ravens have second round pick Sergio Kindle waiting in the wings to try for one of the outside linebacker positions. At season's end Johnson tallied 58 tackles, 2.5 sacks and three passes defended, down from 73 tackles a year ago.
Johnson has been a long-time fan favorite here in Baltimore, known for his grittiness and hard-nosed style. He was a fourth round pick in the Ravens 2003 draft class and the team now has two second round picks waiting in the wings in Kruger and Kindle. Although it would be hard for him to leave Johnson understands it's a business.
"I don’t know, we’ll see," a downtrodden Johnson said on Monday morning as he cleaned out his locker.
"We’ve got a lot of good young players. We’ve got a lot of guys that they’ve got to re-sign."
"I'd like to fit in here again," Johnson said. "But unfortunately this is a business and sometimes business decisions (have) got to be made. I hope to be back. I'd love to retire a Raven, but we'll see."