When the Jets signed Chris Johnson back in April, no one expected him to be the CJ2K who would carry the ball 290 times a year, which Johnson averaged during his six seasons with the Titans.

As he told the New York Daily News last week, Johnson may think he's still capable of churning out 2,000 yards like he did in 2009. But that doesn't sound like it's what the Jets have in mind for him.

"He's got some miles on him," Jets running backs coach Anthony Lynn conceded. "So we're going to have to be strategic in how we use him, and when we use him, to keep him fresh so that he can be the explosive guy that I know that he can be."

The Jets plan to incorporate Johnson into a system that already includes Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell, who nearly evenly split the bulk of the team's carries a year ago (182 for Ivory, 176 for Powell) and combined for 1,530 yards on the ground.

Johnson had said during his days in Nashville that he didn't believe in a running back-by-committee system. But shortly after signing with the Jets on a deal with a max value of two years and $8 million, per overthecap.com, he admitted he had abandoned that stance.

"This year, it's about winning," Johnson said at the time. "I want to come into a program where I think we could win. And if that's what the coach feels we [have to do to] win, then that's what we have to do."

Johnson, who turns 29 in September, was such a workhorse with the Titans in part because he had to be: Last season, he had 279 carries and 42 catches (on 51 targets), and no other Titans running back had more than 77 carries and six catches.

All that wear and tear eventually did take its toll. Johnson had surgery in January to repair a torn meniscus, and his recovery kept him out of organized team activities and limited him to individual and position drills during last week's minicamp. The Jets hope Johnson will be ready to roll when training camp starts next month, but head coach Rex Ryan also hasn't ruled out the possibility of keeping Johnson on a "pitch count" by limiting his reps as a precaution.

Lynn said the addition of Johnson gives the Jets' backfield a different dimension.

"I really like the versatility; it'll really gives you the opportunity to do more things to attack the defense," Lynn said. "So with Chris's skill-set, combined with Chris Ivory's power-running game, and Bilal Powell's more of a combination of both, it's a really good quality to have in the room."

Johnson's pass-catching skills also figure to come in handy, particularly on screens and check-downs, which is something quarterbacks coach David Lee said he had been emphasizing with both Geno Smith and Michael Vick.

Johnson's 42 catches in 2013 would have come close to leading the Jets, who were topped by receiver Jeremy Kerley's 43 receptions.

Lynn said Johnson's achievements won him instant respect with the team's other backs from the time he arrived. But Lynn also said it's been tough to gauge exactly how everything fits until the Jets can practice in pads and players can hit one other in training camp.

"I like to see it in pads, the way the game is played," Lynn said. "Too many times, what you see in shorts doesn't correlate to pads."