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John Johnson (safety)

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John Johnson
refer to caption
Johnson III with the Rams in 2020
No. 43 – Los Angeles Rams
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1995-12-19) December 19, 1995 (age 28)
Hyattsville, Maryland, U.S.
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Northwestern
(Hyattsville, Maryland)
College:Boston College (2013–2016)
NFL draft:2017 / round: 3 / pick: 91
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2024
Total tackles:562
Sacks:1.0
Forced fumbles:4
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:48
Interceptions:15
Stats at Pro Football Reference

John Johnson III (born December 19, 1995) is an American professional football safety for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College,[1] and was selected by the Rams in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He has also played for the Cleveland Browns.

Early life

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He attended Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland and played wide receiver and safety for head coach Brian Pierre. Johnson finished his senior year with 50 combined tackles, 13 pass deflections, six tackles for a loss, and five interceptions.

He was rated as a two-star recruit by 247sports and Rivals.com. Johnson received ten offers in total from Boston College, Lehigh, Bucknell, Buffalo, Duke, UMass, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Towson, and Ohio. On June 1, 2012, Johnson took his only college visit to Boston College and then attended a camp held by them in late June where he was said to be very impressive and one of the top performers.[2] Boston College's special teams coordinator and defensive line coach Al Washington recruited him to join their football team. On July 23, 2012, he officially committed to play for Boston College and cited academics as the main reason on why he chose to attend BC.[3]

College career

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In 2013, Johnson began attending Boston College. He made his collegiate debut in the Eagles' season-opening 24–14 victory over the FCS' #5 Villanova Wildcats. On November 16, 2013, he recorded three solo tackles and made one tackle for a loss in a 38–21 victory over NC State. On December 31, 2013, Johnson made his first career fumble recovery during a 19–42 loss to Arizona in the 2013 AdvoCare V100 Bowl. He played cornerback and on special teams as a freshman and finished his season with four combined tackles, a tackle for a loss, and a fumble recovery in 12 games.

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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On January 28, 2017, Johnson accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl and played for the North who lost 15–16 to the South. He had an impressive week at practice leading up to the Senior Bowl and had a meeting with the Indianapolis Colts. Johnson attended the NFL combine and completed all of the required combine and positional drills. On March 14, 2017, he participated at Boston College's pro day and chose to attempt the broad jump and run positional drills. Among 20 NFL teams had team representatives and scouts attend, that included defensive backs coaches from the New York Jets and Detroit Lions, to scout Johnson, Matt Millano, Patrick Towles, and three other teammates.[4] He was ranked as the seventh best free safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.[5]

External videos
video icon John Johnson's NFL Combine Workout
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0+1⁄2 in
(1.84 m) 		208 lb
(94 kg) 		32 in
(0.81 m) 		9+7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 4.61 s 1.58 s 2.66 s 4.18 s 6.72 s 37 in
(0.94 m)		 9 ft 11 in
(3.02 m)		 14 reps
All values from NFL Combine[6]

Los Angeles Rams (first stint)

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2017

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Johnson III was selected in the third round (91st overall) of the 2017 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams.[7]

External videos
video icon Rams draft John Johnson 91st overall
video icon NFL Draft Profile: John Johnson III

On June 9, 2017, the Rams signed Johnson to a four-year, $3.25 million contract that included a signing bonus of $757,752.[8][9][10]

Throughout training camp, he competed with Maurice Alexander and Blake Countess for the job as the starting strong safety. The Rams' newly hired head coach at the time, Sean McVay, named Johnson the third strong safety on the Rams' depth chart, behind Alexander and Countess, to begin the regular season.[11]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Rams' season-opener against the Colts and made one tackle during the 46–9 victory. On October 8, 2017, Johnson made his first career start after the Rams deactivated the struggling Alexander for the game. Johnson recorded three combined tackles, defended two passes, and returned the first interception of his career for 69-yards after picking off Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson in a 10–16 loss. In Week 7, he collected a season-high five combined tackles in a 33–0 win over the Arizona Cardinals.[12] On December 10, 2017, Johnson collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (seven solo) and two pass deflections during a 43–35 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 14.[13] He finished his rookie season with 75 combined tackles (56 solo), 11 pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and 11 starts.[14] Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 85.8, ranking him 15th among all qualifying safeties in 2017.[15]

The Rams finished atop the NFC West with an 11–5 record. On January 6, 2018, Johnson started his first career playoff game and recorded six combined tackles in the Rams' 26–13 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football Conference (NFC) Wildcard Game.[13]

2018

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In Week 1 against the Oakland Raiders, Johnson intercepted quarterback Derek Carr and made 9 tackles on Monday Night Football. In Week 14 against the Chicago Bears, Johnson intercepted Mitchell Trubisky in a 15–6 loss. Johnson finished the 2018 season with 119 tackles, 4 interceptions and a forced fumble. In the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys, Johnson recorded 7 tackles in the 30–22 win. In the NFC Championship Game against the New Orleans Saints, Johnson had 4 tackles and caught the big interception in overtime to help the Rams win 26–23 to send them to Super Bowl LIII where they faced the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, Johnson recorded 7 tackles in a 13–3 loss.

2019

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Johnson at Rams' training camp on August 3, 2019

In Week 2 against the Saints, Johnson recorded his first interception of the season off Drew Brees in the 27–9 win.[16] In Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, Johnson intercepted Baker Mayfield in the end zone late in the fourth quarter, sealing a 20–13 Rams win.[17] He was placed on injured reserve on October 16, 2019 with a shoulder injury.[18]

2020

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In Week 3 against the Buffalo Bills, with the Rams down 28–3 in the third quarter, Johnson was credited with an interception after coming down with simultaneous possession of the ball with Bills tight end Tyler Kroft, allowing the Rams to rally and take the lead in the fourth quarter before Buffalo responded with a game-winning drive in the last few minutes.[19]

Cleveland Browns

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On March 17, 2021, Johnson signed a three-year, $33.75 million deal with the Browns.[20] Starting 15 out of 17 games in 2021, Johnson had 61 total tackles with three interceptions and a forced fumble.

In 14 starts in 2022, Johnson had 81 total tackles (58 unassisted) and an interception with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

On March 15, 2023, Johnson was released by the Browns.[21]

Los Angeles Rams (second stint)

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On August 7, 2023, Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Rams.[22] On December 3, he recorded his first interception back with the Rams against his former team, the Cleveland Browns.[23]

On July 4, 2024, Johnson re-signed with the Rams.[24]

NFL career statistics

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Comb Solo Ast Sack PD Int Yds Avg Lng TD FF FR
2017 LAR 16 11 75 56 19 0.0 11 1 69 69.0 69 0 0 0
2018 LAR 16 16 119 82 37 0.0 11 4 46 11.5 35 0 1 0
2019 LAR 6 5 51 24 27 0.0 2 2 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2020 LAR 16 16 105 73 32 0.0 8 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
2021 CLE 15 15 61 37 24 0.5 5 3 31 10.3 31 0 1 0
2022 CLE 17 17 101 31 31 0.5 4 1 0 0.0 0 0 2 2
2023 LAR 11 6 42 24 18 0.0 6 2 44 22.0 42 0 0 0
2024 LAR 2 1 8 4 4 0.0 1 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Total 105 89 562 370 192 1.0 48 15 190 28.2 69 0 4 2

References

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  1. ^ Kurkjian, Adam (March 22, 2017). "Boston College pro day works out for John Johnson ahead of NFL draft". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Brian Pavat (June 24, 2012). "Maryland Safety John Johnson Commits To Boston College Football". bcinterupption.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "John Johnson". 247sports.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  4. ^ Gil Brandt (March 21, 2017). "Pro day results: North Carolina, UCLA, Boston College". Nfl.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  5. ^ "John Johnson, DS #7 FS, Boston College". draftscout.com. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  6. ^ "NFL Draft Profile: John Johnson". NFL.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  7. ^ "2017 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  8. ^ Klein, Gary (April 28, 2017). "Rams pick Boston College safety John Johnson at No. 91". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 20, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Rams sign tight end Gerald Everett, wide receiver Cooper Kupp and safety John Johnson". Los Angeles Times. June 9, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  10. ^ "Spotrac.com: John Johnson III contract". Spotrac.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  11. ^ Cameron DaSilva (September 5, 2017). "Rams release first depth chart of regular season". Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  12. ^ "NFL Player Profile: John Johnson". NFL.com. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "NFL Player stats: John Johnson III (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  14. ^ "NFL Player stats: John Johnson (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  15. ^ "Pro Football Focus: John Johnson III". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  16. ^ "Brees injured, Rams beat Saints 27–9 in title game rematch". ESPN. September 15, 2019. Archived from the original on September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  17. ^ "Goff throws 2 TDs passes, Rams hold off Browns 20–13". ESPN. September 22, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  18. ^ "Rams place safety John Johnson III on injured reserve". TheRams.com. October 16, 2019.
  19. ^ "Watch: Questionable call on INT set up Rams' TD drive". Touchdown Wire. September 27, 2020. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  20. ^ "John Johnson (SS): Bio, News, Stats & more". www.clevelandbrowns.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  21. ^ "Browns release S John Johnson III, DE Jadeveon Clowney". ClevelandBrowns.com. March 15, 2023. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Jackson, Stu (August 7, 2023). "Rams sign defensive back John Johnson III". TheRams.com. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
  23. ^ DaSilva, Cameron (December 3, 2023). "John Johnson sends shot at Browns on Twitter after 36-19 win". Rams Wire. Archived from the original on August 21, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles Rams agree to terms with DB John Johnson III". TheRams.com. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
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