Jets Release Johnson

High-salaried Johnny Johnson, the Jets’ leading rusher for the past two years and the team’s most valuable player in 1993, was released by New York.

Johnson, a productive if unspectacular performer for two seasons, was to swell the Jets’ salary cap by $2.1 million this year. That included a base salary of $1.45 million. But the Jets last week re-signed Richie Anderson, a 23-year-old back, to a contract that makes his 1995 cap only $450,000, about one-fifth of Johnson’s.

Brad Baxter returns as the Jets’ starting fullback. During the off-season, New York acquired Ronald Moore and signed free agent Dexter Carter.