You better believe that Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson and his agent have been keeping close tabs on what happens with DeAngelo Williams. They have to be pretty pumped that DeAngelo agreed to terms today on a deal that will keep him with the Carolina Panthers and pay him $21 million guaranteed over 5 years. Williams is a very good running back, but he is no Chris Johnson. That is probably the first thing CJ's agent told Mike Reinfeldt after the deal was announced.
So what does that mean for the Titans and Johnson? It means that CJ isn't taking $21 million guaranteed or less over 5 years, and from his standpoint he absolutely shouldn't. Williams has been in the league 5 years and only has two 1,000 yard rushing seasons. His highest total was 1,515 yards back in 2008. CJ had a "down" year last year and finished with 1,364.
The flip side of that from the Titans is going to say that he and DeAngelo have the exact same yards per carry (5.0) over the course of their career, so CJ should be willing to take the same money, but that doesn't change the fact that they are going to have to give him that money.At the end of the day we still know that the Titans don't have any choice but to pay Chris Johnson this year. He deserves to be paid, and it is pretty clear at this point that he won't be in Nashville until he gets paid.
I think eventually a deal in the area of 5 years and $25 million guaranteed ultimately gets done between the Titans and CJ. I just hope that happens sooner rather than later.