NFL

Chris Johnson likes Rex, doesn’t like skeptics & knee questions

Chris Johnson is vowing to play with a very big chip on his shoulder for the Jets this season.

Insisting he can still be the same back who rushed for 2,006 yards in 2009, Johnson told local reporters in a conference call Thursday that skeptics will be his biggest source of motivation as a member of Gang Green.

“It’s always great to have things to put a chip on your shoulder, have things to motivate you and keep [you] hungry,” the former Tennessee Titans All-Pro selection said. “I just know that I’m a hard worker, and I don’t feel like I’ve [fallen] off.”

Johnson, who turns 29 in September, signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Jets on Wednesday that was the richest deal for any running back so far in free agency this year.

Johnson said he chose the Jets over one other team — he wouldn’t specify which — because he considers them a “winning program” despite missing the playoffs three years in a row. Rex Ryan also was a big lure, Johnson added.

“At the end of the day, I wanted to go to a team that was a winning program and has a chance of being a contender,” Johnson said. “Rex is an aggressive type of coach, and I feel like I’m an aggressive type of player. I like the type of style that Rex has. He made me feel comfortable. I felt like I was at home.”

Johnson has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in all six of his NFL seasons, but appeared to slip last season, when he had 1,077 yards but averaged a career-low 3.9 yards per carry.

Johnson attributed his 2013 woes to a torn meniscus suffered the first month of the season and extra attention from defenses still focused on stopping him in the wake of his 2,000-yard effort four years earlier.

“I almost had 1,100 yards last year, but I’m pretty sure that if I hadn’t had to deal with that injury, I would have run for well over 1,200 yards,” Johnson said.

Johnson still isn’t cleared to participate in football activities because of his knee, but he is optimistic that approval will come sometime this spring. He said there is “no concern” that he will be unavailable for the start of training camp.

An ESPN report said teams were scared off by arthritis in his injured knee, but Johnson dismissed that.

“That’s not accurate,” he said. “If [the Jets] had any major concerns, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have passed the physical.”

Johnson complained last season in Tennessee about having to share carries with former Jet Shonn Greene, but Johnson said Thursday he would be fine splitting duties with Gang Green’s two other primary backs, Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell.

“I don’t have too much concern about how the carries are going to be,” Johnson said. “From talking to Rex and [offensive coordinator] Marty [Mornhinweg], they’ll put everybody in the best position to help the Jets win. And that’s what really matters.

“Basically, it’s about winning,” Johnson added. “If that’s what the coach feels will help us win, then that’s what we have to do.”