Adam Schefter dropped the news Friday: Titans cornerback Nazeeh Johnson has been suspended six games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy. It's a rough gut-punch for a guy who just got to Tennessee this summer looking to carve out a role.
Titans CB Nazeeh Johnson was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing substances.
For context on how fresh this signing was: Johnson inked a one-year, $1.1M deal with the Titans just this offseason, reuniting with GM Mike Borgonzi, who was the Chiefs' assistant GM during Johnson's first three seasons in Kansas City. That relationship is presumably why Tennessee took a flier on him in the first place.
Johnson isn't some no-name camp body, either. He spent 4 years with the Chiefs after going in the 2022 seventh round, and he's got 2 Super Bowl rings from Kansas City's back-to-back title runs. Landing in Nashville was supposed to be a chance to cash in on that pedigree with more playing time.
Instead, per Tennessee's own team site, the suspension kicks in August 30 and he's not eligible for reinstatement until Monday, October 19 — the first 6 regular-season games gone, unpaid. He can still suit up for the rest of the preseason, but once the games count, he's on the sideline.
Interestingly, one report indicated Johnson has said the positive test traced back to Clomid, a fertility drug — not exactly the steroid-cycle narrative fans might assume when they hear 'PED suspension.' The NFL's policy doesn't really care about intent, though; a banned substance is a banned substance, and the six games stand regardless of the explanation.
It's a secondary-depth hit for a Titans team that just added Johnson for exactly this kind of competition, and now has to figure out its cornerback room for the first month and a half of the season without him. Expect Tennessee to lean on its existing depth chart to start the year, with Johnson back in the mix by mid-October if he stays clean the rest of the way.