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The NFL world was shocked on Monday when it became public that Chris Johnson, one of just nine players ever to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, is suffering from ALS.
The news hit close to home for Ryan Fitzpatrick, who played for Johnson’s Tennessee Titans for one season. And despite only being a year apart, the two have a special connection.
“He was a great teammate when I got to play with him that one year and obviously a super talented guy on the football field. We texted about a year ago. I was just looking back at our texts and one of the things that I had sent him — the 100th touchdown pass that I threw in the NFL was to CJ2K and he signed the football for me and it says on my white boy. 100,” Fitzpatrick recalled in an interview with Pakinomist Digital. “So the amount of street cred I have from Chris Johnson calling me a cool white boy has always been amazing to me.”
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Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, #4, passes to running back Chris Johnson, #28, against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on October 13, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. (Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)
But ALS is just such a hard thing to deal with, obviously for Chris and for everyone around him. You can just imagine the frustrations of his mind being there but his body starting to fail him and how hard it is. Of course we all hope for the best for him and all our love and support goes out to him and his wife and his family.”
In a lengthy post on social media, Johnson said there is growing research showing a link between repetitive head trauma and ALS, and studies have shown that NFL players are four times as likely to develop ALS as the general population.
Fitzpatrick said personally that when it comes to football, he would do it all over again, even though the risks are more prevalent now than ever before. But what comes with age is grimmer reality.
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson runs against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC on August 28, 2010. (Sam Sharpe/USA TODAY Sports)
FORMER NFL STAR CHRIS JOHNSON SAYS HE HAS BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ALS
“I think guys who play football at least understand the broad scope of what the risk is. I think a lot of guys would tell you, and I would be the same way, football has given me so much in my life that it’s something I’d do again in a heartbeat. And for my kids that want to pursue it, I’m glad they’re pursuing it,” Fitzpatrick said.
“But as you get older, I’m 43, as you get older and your parents get older, I lost my mom five years ago, there’s just more things that seem to happen. It’s really sad. One of my best friends from high school was diagnosed with ALS. So to see that firsthand, and the difficulties that come with it, not just for him, but for everybody that’s harder for him. Happens, and there are things that you have to deal with and figure out off, so it’s unfortunately a hard part of ageing.’
There is no known cure for ALS – known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It is a progressive disease in which the brain loses connection with the muscles, according to the ALS Association. Those affected slowly lose their ability to walk, talk, eat, dress, write, swallow and eventually breathe.
Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson breaks free for a long run against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California, November 8, 2009. The Titans defeated the 49ers 34-27. (Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports)
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The former running back played in the NFL from 2008 to 2017 with the Titans, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.
