Jets, RB Johnson agree to terms

ALWAYS FAST on the field, Chris Johnson found a new job pretty quickly, too.

The New York Jets signed the former Titans running back yesterday, a little over a week after he was officially released by Tennessee on April 7.

Johnson met with the Jets all day Tuesday - the first team he visited - and stayed in town to watch the Knicks-Nets game in Brooklyn before signing. The Jets announced the move, but didn't release terms.

In a text message to the Associated Press, Johnson confirmed it was a 2-year deal.

Johnson was told by the Titans of their decision April 4, ending a 6-year stint in Tennessee during which he became one of the NFL's most exciting and tantalizingly fast running backs. The former 2,000-yard rusher will team with Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell to give coach Rex Ryan a deep and dangerous backfield.

The Jets also have Mike Goodson, who is dealing with legal issues and recovering from torn knee ligaments, and Alex Green.

While his days as a workhorse running back - he carried the ball more than 300 times in each of the 2009 and 2010 seasons - might be over, Johnson could be the perfect complement to the bruising Ivory and versatile Powell. In Mornhinweg's first season as offensive coordinator, the Jets finished sixth in the league in rushing with Ivory and Powell sharing the load.

Johnson, who turns 29 in September, is only the sixth player to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first six seasons. He finished with 1,077 yards - the second-lowest total of his career - and a career-worst 3.9-yard average last season.

* Free-agent quarterback Josh Freeman has agreed to terms with the New York Giants, a person familiar with the deal told the Associated Press.

Freeman was cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in October after a messy split. He signed with Minnesota 4 days later, but played just one game for the Vikings. That came against the Giants, when he went 20-for-53 for 190 yards and one interception in a 23-7 loss.

* Green Bay reached a deal to bring back backup quarterback Matt Flynn.

* The Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice agreed to terms on a deal. Rice was released by Seattle in February in a salary-driven move. He was scheduled to make $8.5 million this season under his previous contract. Terms of his new deal were not disclosed. Rice is coming back from a torn ACL suffered in October. He has been cleared to participate in football-related activities.

* A federal judge in Philadelphia declined to approve deals for another batch of retired players suing the NFL over concussion-linked claims. U.S. District Judge Anita Brody's preliminary ruling follows a similar ruling in January on the proposed $765 million umbrella settlement. She is skeptical that the fund is large enough to cover up to 20,000 players for 65 years, as intended.

Brody's latest ruling involves a group of plaintiffs led by Kevin Turner, a former Eagles fullback now battling Lou Gehrig's disease. The judge also denied the Turner group class-action status, at least for now.