Jermaine Johnson says he's "a guy that talks a lot, and I say that in a humble way." He hasn't done a lot of public speaking in the last nine months about the injury that ended his 2024 season almost before it began.

"I'm a man of faith. I cried a little bit right after I got hurt," Johnson told reporters after Tuesday's first practice of the Jets' mandatory minicamp, which he wasn't participating in as he continues to rehab his torn right Achilles tendon. "God put me through this and I went into rehab full of confidence."

Johnson's injury looked like a lot of Achilles tears, which is to say that from up in the stands, it didn't look like he did anything that serious to damage the thickest tendon in the human body. Coming off his left edge, chasing down scrambling Tennessee QB Will Levis running the opposite way. Johnson engaged with blocking RB Julius Chestnut, landed hard on his right foot, took one step with his left and then went to ground at Nissan Stadium.

Less than two full games into the season after he roared to Pro Bowl status as a second-year 'backer and edge, Johnson's season was done.

But he's back now, even though he's not practicing yet and head coach Aaron Glenn said he may start training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list. But Glenn said: "He'll be ready for the season," And Johnson minutes later said: "I'm getting to run around, feeling like myself, so things are feeling good."

The worst part of the injury, Johnson said, was that it took away a piece of himself that he felt was valuable

"I want all the pressure on me," he said. "I want you guys to trust me to make the plays. And when I went down, I felt like I let my teammates down. I know injuries happen, but just how I'm thinking, I let the guys down. They put a lot of stock into that, I know they did, and I wasn't there to uphold my end of the bargain or lift my end of the couch."

Even though he couldn't be a part of his teammates now running around in shirts and shorts during the three-day minicamp at the Atlantic Health Training Center, Johnson has been reestablishing his presence in the Jets' order of things.

He's a member of the Jets' D-line room that, despite what might be said by some outside the building, feels pretty good about itself. As free agent end Rashad Weaver said:

"You've got guys that are beasts in the league, from 'Q' Williams to Jermaine to Will [McDonald[," Weaver said. "To see those guys and what they bring and we can all kind of bounce ideas off of each other, it just seems like more fun every day and camp will be fun time in that room."

And the new front office regime led by GM Darren Mougey and Glenn, even without seeing Johnson going full bore this offseason, exercised his fifth-year option, so he will be a member of the Green & White at least through 2026.

"There are things that stand out going back to college, what I saw in him, and even at the Senior Bowl when I had the chance to coach him then," Glenn said. "He's a hard-nosed, physical, violent player that's very athletic, that has the ability to win off the edge and make plays on the quarterback. Listen, you don't get a lot of guys that have the athleticism that he does but are still strong and powerful enough to hold up against the run. I'm excited to see that player get out there in training camp and going into the first game."

Funny how tantalizing NFL storylines emerge and develop lives of their own out of seemingly thin air for each game. The Jets' opener in September will be at MetLife Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who just added Aaron Rodgers to their roster. And Rodgers, of course, lost even more of his '23 Jets season than Johnson did of last season to a torn Achilles tendon.

What's more, the two — now 21st-year future Hall of Fame QB Rodgers and now fourth-year LB Johnson — have stayed in touch this offseason.

"The first thing he said after my injury was, 'You'll be good. You've got a 10-year-plus career. You're all right. Chalk it up, calm down a little bit, take it on the chin, handle it,' " Johnson said. "That's how I've attacked it, and Aaron's been a tremendous help in so many ways.

"It's funny," Johnson said about the confluence of his Jets and Rodgers' Steelers on Sept. 7. "I'm excited, he's excited. Yeah, it was a pleasure having Aaron around and I wish him best. But when I get inside those lines, there's no friends. I think he feels the same.

"It's going to be my first game back. There's a lot of emotions. And when my emotions run high, I tend to play pretty well."