Though it looked impossible at one point, the Titans and Chris Johnson have come to agreement on a new contract. Johnson wanted 13 million per year. The Titans wanted to pay him 9 to 10. Today, the two sides came to an agreement that would pay Johnson 13.375 million per year over 4 years with 30 million dollar guaranteed, but force Johnson to play out the remaining two years of his rookie contract and just around a million per year. Johnson gets his 13 million dollars per year, eventually, but overall, this is essentially a backloaded 6 year 55 million dollar deal for Johnson, right in the 9-10 million dollar range they wanted to pay him.

However, it’s hard to get too excited about a deal that will pay Chris Johnson 13 million dollars the year after he turns 30. Speed backs don’t age well and running backs don’t age well in general. A large portion of this deal, 30 million, is guaranteed and Johnson isn’t as sure thing as a guy like Adrian Peterson at running back. Even looking at the deal as a whole, 9 million per year for 6 years is a little too much for any running back. The position just isn’t that valuable any more. You can get by paying 2 decent runners who complement each other 2-3 million apiece per year. 4 of the top 6 rushers in the league last year missed the playoffs. In 2009, 3 of the top 4 missed. Still, credit the Titans for getting a reasonable deal done with Johnson, even if they did overpay.

Grade: B