Tennessee Titans legendary running back Chris Johnson revealed on Monday’s edition of Good Morning America that he was diagnosed with ALS in 2025 at age 39. Johnson and his wife Brittany shared the devastating news with the world, detailing how rapidly the disease has progressed. In the span of a year, Johnson has gone from working out regularly and carrying his children, to not being able to hold a cup or speak without a voice generator.

Knowing what we now know about his medical situation, the Titans have a very obvious task ahead of them. Chris Johnson must be put into the Titans Ring of Honor posthaste.

Chris Johnson has always deserved a seat in the Titans Ring of Honor

Let me be clear about one thing: this diagnosis is not what makes Chris Johnson worthy of being placed into the Ring of Honor. If and when that happens, people may bring up that it’s a shame it took an ALS diagnosis for him to be recognized in that way. But Chris Johnson is a surefire member of the Titans and Oilers franchise Mount Rushmore of running backs. And that’s a Mount Rushmore representing the No. 1 team out of all 32 in the NFL when it comes to history and heritage at the position. No franchise has the legacy Tennessee has at running back, and Johnson is one of the four greats. All four deserve to be enshrined.

For Johnson, it’s a no-brainer because his star burned brighter at its peak than any of those other players. I’m not here to tell you he was a better player than Derrick Henry, who will one day be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in my opinion. But at his best, CJ2K was a slightly more dominant player than Henry was at his peak. Henry’s greatness has as much to do with his longevity and consistent dominance in an era where his style of play shouldn’t be dominant as it does with what he was at his best.

During Henry’s 2,000-yard season, he rushed for 2,027 yards at a 5.4 yards-per-attempt clip. When you factor in receiving yards, his all-purpose total for the year was 2,141.

During Johnson’s 2,000-yard season in 2009, he rushed for 2,006 yards at a 5.6 yards-per-attempt clip. But when you factor in his receiving efforts, he set the still-standing NFL record for all-purpose yards in a single season: 2,509. He was a Pro Bowler, a First Team All-Pro, and the AP Offensive Player of the Year. His single-season all-purpose record still stands today, with Marshall Faulk in second place 80 yards behind him. It’s a record that frankly may stand the test of time because Johnson was the engine of that offense in a way we very rarely see any single player be.

It’s also worth noting he had that season on a middling 8-8 Titans team that was far inferior to the squad around Henry during his 2,000-yard run. So Johnson is not only one of nine running backs in NFL history to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards, but he did so in a circumstance where you never would have guessed it was possible.

He also holds the NFL record for most career 80-plus-yard touchdown runs with six. He was a threat from anywhere on the field at all times. As a Titan, he totaled 7,965 rushing yards with six 1,000-yard seasons across all six years he spent in Nashville, plus a 228-yard single-game franchise mark in 2012. He was an absolute monster.

The final season at Nissan Stadium makes this even more fitting

There is already one Ring of Honor inductee on the to-do list in the final season of current Nissan Stadium this fall. Former Titans Radio color commentator Dave McGinnis, who tragically passed away earlier this year after battling an illness, is set to receive that honor. At McGinnis’s celebration of life on May 28, Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk made a rare appearance and spoke on behalf of the organization about what he meant to this team, announcing that he would be put into the Ring of Honor this fall.

Now that we know what we know about Johnson and his health struggles, the same needs to be done for him. It is especially fitting in this final season at existing Nissan Stadium, for a player who in large part defined the greatest memories of this era of Titans football, to be a part of the big farewell tour being planned for this fall. McGinnis deserves his own day and his own recognition without a shadow of a doubt. Johnson deserves to join him and have his own day. There’s nothing I’m more certain of than this: if McGinnis was still with us today, he would be leading the charge to get Johnson that induction this season.

The Titans as an organization have a recent history of taking their time to induct new Ring of Honor members. Since 2008, there have been just 6 inductees:

• 2018: Robert Brazile (Linebacker, 1975–84)
• 2021: O.A. “Bum” Phillips (Head Coach, 1975–80), Jeff Fisher (Head Coach, 1994–2010), Floyd Reese (General Manager, 1986–2006)
• 2023: Billy “White Shoes” Johnson (Wide Receiver, 1974–80)
• 2025: Mike Keith (Voice of the Titans, 1998–2024)

The most modern Titan in terms of when they first played for the franchise is Frank Wycheck, who joined Tennessee in 1995. If and when Johnson gets his induction, his 2008 start date will be by far the most modern of the group. But while he is still with us, he is as deserving as anybody to receive that honor. And I’m sure the Titans know it.