Jim Wyatt

USA TODAY Sports

Chris Johnson strolled through a New York City airport on Wednesday, the bounce in his step restored.

The events of the past year had torn him up emotionally – his months in limbo, his eventual release from the Titans, his 12-day wait to find a new team.

After signing with the Jets, he spoke with optimism about his future, but expressed some regret about publicly refusing to take a pay cut with the Titans. But he's not sure it would've mattered anyway.

"I have great memories of playing with the Titans. I love my people in Tennessee. It was a great run," Johnson said by phone. "But sometimes people have to move on. I was upset about it at first, how things played out, but now I have a fresh start, and I am excited.

"I know a lot of people are doubting me. I'm going to go out there with a chip on my shoulder and prove everybody wrong who has doubts in me. … I still have it."

Johnson, who has 7,965 yards and 50 touchdowns in six seasons, signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Jets. The deal includes a $3 million signing bonus, a $1 million guaranteed salary for 2014 and a $3.5 million base salary for 2015. He could earn an additional $1 million in incentives based on yardage.

It's not the money Johnson was accustomed to – he made $10 million last season and was to make $8 million this season – but he entered a soft market for running backs when the Titans released him on April 4 after failed attempts to trade him.

"It was a crazy situation, really," he said. "I feel like everyone knew how it was going to play out, so I feel like (the Titans) could have made a move quicker than they did. They should have released me earlier rather than wait around. I know a lot of my fans felt like I was trying to get out of Tennessee, but that was never the case."

Johnson had been adamant in two separate interviews with The Tennessean that he wouldn't take a pay cut to remain with the Titans, but on Wednesday he said he wishes they would've asked.

There are indications the Titans approached Johnson's agent earlier in the offseason about a pay cut, but the suggestion was met with a negative response.

"I said I wouldn't take a pay cut because if you say you would you're basically saying it's your fault for everything. So I said I wasn't taking a pay cut," Johnson said of the interviews. "But even with me saying that, I still feel like if they really wanted to keep me or really wanted me to stay, they could have come at me and asked me about it. I don't know all the ins and outs of restructuring contracts and things like that."

So would Johnson have accepted a pay cut to remain with the Titans?

"I am not sure," he said. "I never had a chance to make that decision, so I can't answer that question."

Johnson believes the Titans were simply ready to move on following a season when he rushed for 1,077 yards with a career-low 3.9 yards per carry. He said he never talked to new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who replaced Mike Munchak in January, but he knew his time was up long before he walked into general manager Ruston Webster's office on April 4.

"With a new coaching staff … they basically didn't want me anymore, and that's OK," Johnson said. "But I know a lot of my fans thought I was only willing to take a pay cut to get traded, and that wasn't the case. I just never had a chance to make a decision like that with the Titans."

He is ready to make a difference with the Jets, who visit LP Field this season on a date to be announced.

The three-time Pro Bowler departed as the Titans/Oilers third all-time rusher behind Eddie George (10,009) and Hall of Famer Earl Campbell (8,574), and he's one of only seven players to produce a 2,000-yard season, a feat he pulled off in 2009.

Only Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has more rushing yards (8,774) over the past six seasons, but Johnson's productivity in his past three (3,367 yards, 4.12 average, 16 touchdowns) pales in comparison to his first three (4,598, 4.97, 34).

"I don't know if the Titans think I am running out of gas or not; we really never had any conversations," Johnson said. "But the organization knows I practiced every day and played in every game and did the best I could do. And I enjoyed my time in Tennessee. It was a lot of fun.

"But I am very excited about the Jets. It is a great situation. … Everything is going to work out."

Wyatt also writes for the Tennessean in Nashville.