The Tennessee Titans are putting Chris Johnson’s ring of honor on the line due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
Johnson and his family will not be able to travel to Nashville for the ceremony, according to A Group description Posted to X The ceremony was originally scheduled for halftime of Tennessee’s Week 1 game against the New York Jets on Sunday.
“Knowing how much he wants to be in the Titans Ring of Honor in person at Nissan Stadium,” the statement read in part. “We will postpone the official induction ceremony and look forward to celebrating the moment with them in the future.
“Sunday’s half-time ceremony remains committed to celebrating Chris’ incredible achievements on the field and with our team.”
The Titans have not said when Johnson will be officially inducted into the Ring of Honor.
An NFL spokesman said. The athletics: “The NFL continually strives to make the game of football safer, including by implementing strategies to reduce concussions and head impacts.
Johnson, 40, shared his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). “Good Morning America.” At the end of June In an interview With host and Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.
ALS is a progressive neurological disease that destroys neurons in the brain and spinal cord. It targets neurons (motor neurons) that carry signals from the brain to the muscles through the spinal cord. Once those neurons are damaged or die, the muscles can no longer receive signals from the brain.
“First, I want people to know that I’m still me,” he answered questions using his eye-activated speech generator. “ALS has changed what my body can do, but it hasn’t changed who I am.
In the year In 2008, Johnson ran a 4.24-second 40-yard dash in the NFL, the record that stood as the fastest until 2017. The Titans then drafted him 24th in the first round of that year’s draft. East Carolina.
Johnson retired in 2018 after playing 10 NFL seasons. He spent his first six seasons with Tennessee before stints with the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.
Johnson was one of the league’s premier running backs in the Music City, rushing for six consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start his career. In 2009, his second year in the league, he rushed for 2,006 yards. He became the sixth player in NFL history to break the 2,000-yard mark. He added 503 receiving yards that season, bringing his career total to 2,509, which still stands as the NFL single-season record for total yards. This earned him Player of the Year honors later in the season.
Johnson eventually became a three-time Pro Bowler and one-time AP First-Team All-Pro member. Tennessee’s 7,965 yards are fourth in franchise history. He finished his career with 9,651 rushing yards and 55 touchdowns on the ground, 2,255 career receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
“Some people leave a mark on an organization that you can’t put into words. Chris Johnson is one of those people for us,” said Titans managing partner Amy Adams Stank. In the description After Johnson’s investigation was revealed. “In addition to his leadership on the field and his impact in the locker room and in the Nashville community, he has forever written himself into the history of this franchise.”
In an interview with GMA, Johnson said he has lived a “normal life” since retirement, including spending time with his four children and wife Brittany, who were with him in the interview.
Johnson first started feeling weakness in his right hand last year. In the labeled column “A Letter to My Children” Published Thursday by The Gamer’s Tribune, he said he felt a water bottle was heavier than usual on a family spring break trip in March 2025.
Ultimately, Johnson said he was told to get his issues under control after the test, and that his condition worsened “quicker than I thought.” He also revealed that he can no longer pick up his 7-year-old daughter or even hold a cup if he tries.
“How can one be perfectly healthy one day, running around the yard with the kids, and the next, your hand is going numb,” Johnson asked in a Players’ Tribune column.
“Man, I’ve asked myself that question like a million times, and I still don’t have an answer.
Research NFL players are “three to four times” more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Parkinson’s disease and dementia, according to a July release from Mass General Brigham, Boston University and the Concussion & CTE Foundation.
Johnson responded to that study in a September column.
“At this point, I’ve seen a lot of neurologists and I’ve been to basically every major ALS clinic in the country, and in my experience, I’ve played football and it’s like, ‘Ah, OK,'” Johnson wrote to his children. “It’s almost like understanding, you know?”
Johnson cited the study before writing, “… That was shocking. And to be clear, your father is not an expert, and this is just one study, and there may be other environmental factors at play. Anyone can get ALS.”
