The NFL is filled with gridiron legends who sacrifice their bodies every Sunday in pursuit of a Super Bowl championship. But even the game’s greatest stars aren’t invincible. On Monday, former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson revealed that he is battling ALS.

In an interview on Good Morning America, Johnson shared that he has been diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive neurological disorder that destroys motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, gradually affecting muscle control.

Johnson said there is no history of ALS in his family. Instead, doctors believe he has sporadic ALS, the most common form of the disease.

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“There’s no history of ALS in my family,” Johnson said. “My doctors believe my case is what’s called sporadic ALS, which is actually how the vast majority of ALS cases happen.”

The diagnosis came as a shock to Johnson and his family. He first noticed symptoms last year when weakness developed in his right hand. Initially, his wife believed it was a pinched nerve stemming from his playing career.

“I first noticed weakness in my right hand,” he said. “At first, it was little things like my grip didn’t feel right and I wasn’t as strong as I’ve always been.”

Mighty Titan ‘CJ2K’ Johnson will battle

Those symptoms prompted Johnson to undergo medical evaluations, which ultimately led to his diagnosis. Despite the devastating news, he said he is determined to keep fighting.

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“Honestly, I don’t know if you ever fully process it,” he told Good Morning America. “At first, you’re in shock. Then you realize you have two choices. You can give up, or you can fight. I chose to fight.”

Johnson, once known throughout the NFL as “CJ2K,” remained in excellent physical condition after retiring from football. He told Good Morning America that he was still working out regularly and enjoying time with his family before his diagnosis. While ALS will undoubtedly change the course of his life, fans will always remember him as one of the most electrifying players to wear a Titans uniform.

The legend of CJ2K

Selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft, Johnson quickly became one of the league’s most exciting players. His blazing speed was highlighted by an official 4.24-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, a record that stood for years and helped launch an outstanding career.

After an impressive rookie campaign, Johnson delivered one of the greatest seasons by a running back in NFL history in 2009. He rushed for 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns on 358 carries, earning the nickname “CJ2K.” His historic season also earned him NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors and First-Team All-Pro recognition.

As Johnson begins his fight against ALS, he has the support of the NFL community, Titans fans, and football fans across the country.

One of Robert Saleh’s former players with the New York Jets shared a behind the scenes story about playing for the now Tennessee Titans head coach.

Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh has built a reputation as an intimidating figure. He’s physically fit, carries a commanding stature, and looks the part of a hard-nosed NFL coach. 

But a story from a former player paints a different picture of the man now leading the Titans, one that reinforces what we’ve heard from players across the league about the kind of leader Saleh truly is.

Former New York Jets practice squad quarterback Chris Streveler shared a story on TikTok about the time Saleh "gave him a heart attack" (his words).

"Let me tell you about the time Robert Saleh gave me a heart attack," Streveler has us all hooked. 

During the 2022 season when Saleh was the Jets’ head coach, Streveler had settled into a role as a scout team safety more than a quarterback, as the fourth QB in the building. 

Then he got the dreaded call every fringe roster player fears: “Hey, Coach needs to see you in his office.” Streveler had just moved his girlfriend, his dog, and his whole life to the New York area. He thought he was getting cut.

"I’ve been cut too many times and know what this looks like," Streveler says. "So I’m like, this is it, I’m getting cut. My whole family just moved out to New York. (Saleh) sits me down and ‘Brick' (Jeff Ulbrich) the defensive coordinator is in the room, too."

Then, Streveler's story flips a complete 180 to what he expected.

"We just want to say how much we appreciate your hard work," Streveler recalls what Saleh told him. "What we’re going to do for you this game, we’re going to elevate you to the active roster. You’re going to be inactive for this game, but we just want to get you a real check, because you’ve been working so hard for us. You’ve been such a great teammate, you’ve been going hard in practice. We just want to pay you a little bit, get you a real check."

"I say, ‘Coach, I thought I was going to get cut. You’re telling me I just made an extra $20,000 this week?' Let’s go, guys. It pays to be a good teammate, pays to go hard in practice, even if you’re a quarterback playing scout team safety."

It's a great message from Streveler to get a look inside how some relationships develop from perceived high ranking football coaches and executives, down to the journeymen practice squad guys. 

NFL practice squad pay gone viral out of context 

Former Titans cornerback Darrell Baker, now with the Miami Dolphins, went viral a couple weeks ago when he mentioned his practice squad game check was only $5,500 per week (thanks, social media aggregators…)

The internet freaked out because plenty of people would love $5,500 a week. And that’s fair on the surface. But that’s not recognizing the full picture. 

Practice squad players only earn that $5,500 for the 17 game weeks of the regular season. That comes out to under $100,000 annually. They can be cut at any point, and then the money stops.

In the offseason, NFL players don't get a regular salary. They receive stipends for OTAs, minicamp, and training camp, and those stipends are minimal. If their team makes the playoffs, there’s a small bump for each postseason week, but it’s nothing life-changing.

I hated seeing Baker get dragged online for that because most people did not recognize that’s 17 weeks of pay, not 52.

So when you take Streveler’s story in that context, an extra $20,000 for a guy making $93,000 a year is genuinely significant. That’s a game changer for someone navigating the financial tightrope of being a career practice squad player.

Saleh’s personable reputation follows him to the Titans

But Streveler’s story does reinforce what we’ve heard about Saleh from every stop he’s made. When the Titans hired him, San Francisco 49ers players like George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, and Brock Purdy all spoke glowingly about how much they liked Saleh. The funny thing… Those guys are all offensive players praising a defensive coordinator. That tells you something about how Saleh connects with people beyond his side of the ball.

From what I’ve seen covering minicamp, OTA practices, and press conferences around Saleh and the coaching staff he’s assembled in Nashville, the emphasis on human connection feels genuine. 

I’m not saying anything groundbreaking here. Every coaching staff talks about culture and relationships. But if people genuinely care about each other, the ceiling of that group rises. It won’t single-handedly take the Titans to the playoffs, but it might be worth another win or two.

We’ll see if it translates on Sundays. But that story from Streveler about the time Robert Saleh almost gave him a heart attack tells you a lot about what kind of coach the Titans have.

Keyword: almost.

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: ‘Robert Saleh gave me a heart attack' – Former NFL QB shares when the Titans head coach scared him to death while with the Jets

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