Chris Johnson was one of the most dynamic running backs to grace the NFL.
ALS didn’t care.
Johnson, 39, and his wife, Brittany, joined Michael Strahan for Monday’s “Good Morning America” to publicly disclose the ALS diagnosis he received in 2025.
ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is a progressive neurological disease. There is currently no cure and, according to Cleveland Clinic, the average life expectancy is three to five years.
Strahan shared that Johnson was “in the prime of his life” and “working out every day,” and Johnson detailed that his first symptom was weakness in his right hand. He has already lost his ability to speak and relies upon a Tobii Dynavox machine to communicate.
As soon as news broke, an outpouring of devastation, disbelief, and, ultimately, love and support from the football world flooded social media.
The Tennessee Titans, for whom Johnson starred from 2008 to 2013, compiled posts from the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Taylor Lewan, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Jonathan Taylor, and more into this graphic:
The New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals, as well as East Carolina University, also sent messages of support to their former running back.
“HEART IS SO HEAVY FOR MY FORMER TEAMMATE & ONE OF THE REALEST GUYS I KNOW,” Former Cardinals, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, and New Orleans Saints All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu posted on X. “Praying for you Cj2k!”
Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky wrote, “Praying for Chris Johnson man. Don’t know him personally but he was a tremendous player.”
“Praying for you and your family good brother,” Super Bowl champion, ESPN analyst, and “Pivot” host Ryan Clark posted. “One of the most physically gifted humans I’ve ever seen!”
The Titans drafted Johnson out of East Carolina in the first round (No. 24 overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. His 2,006-yard season for the Tennessee Titans in 2009 stands as the seventh-best mark in NFL history. The All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler finished his NFL career with the Jets (2014) and Cardinals (2015-17) before retiring as a Titan in 2019.
Johnson thanked everyone for their support and requested donations to ALS research at Mass General Brigham on Instagram on Monday. See his and more posts reacting to his cruelly unfair diagnosis below.