Steven Johnson (American football)

Steven Mickail Johnson Jr.[1] (born March 28, 1988) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2012 where he spent three seasons before signing with the Tennessee Titans in 2015. He played college football at the University of Kansas. He has also been a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Hotshots, and Seattle Dragons.

Steven Johnson
Johnson with the Denver Broncos
Free agent
Personal information
Born: (1988-03-28) March 28, 1988
Media, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:239 lb (108 kg)
Career information
High school:Wallingford (PA) Strath Haven
College:Kansas
Undrafted:2012
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2018
Total tackles:68
Sacks:0.5
Forced fumbles:4
Fumble recoveries:3
Interceptions:0
Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

Johnson attended Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, where he played linebacker; however, he struggled to impress coaches the way some of his teammates did. After one year on the freshman team and two years of junior varsity, he became a starter for his varsity team during his senior year. That year, he led the state of Pennsylvania with 114 tackles and being selected for All-state second team. Despite his successful senior year, he did not receive an offer to play collegiate football at any level.

Before college

Without any collegiate offers, Johnson enrolled at Wyoming Seminary in 2006 to continue his education and play football. After only five games, he recorded 62 tackles, two interceptions, and four rushing touchdowns. His performance began to earn the attention of college scouts until he tore his ACL, LCL, and capsule in his left knee. His football career appeared to be over.

After a long period of recovery, Johnson started contacting colleges about playing football. He only received an invitation to walk-on at the University of Kansas, after contacting several colleges.[2]

College career

Johnson played college football at the University of Kansas after walking on to the team. He did not receive a scholarship until just before his junior season when he impressed coaches at practice.

Johnson recorded nine tackles and a sack during his sophomore season, and one tackle during his freshman season.[3]

In his junior season, Johnson had 95 tackles, two sacks and three pass deflections.[3] On September 4, 2010, In the season opener, he recorded nine tackles against North Dakota State.[4] On September 25, 2010, he recorded eight tackles and a sack in a game against New Mexico State.[5]

In his senior season, Johnson had 120 tackles, three pass deflections, two forced fumbles and an interception.[3] In 2011, he was selected to the Phil Steele's Midseason All-Big 12 Third Team.[6] On September 3, 2011, in the season opener, he recorded 15 tackles and a forced fumble against McNeese State.[7] On September 17, 2011, he had 11 tackles in a loss to Georgia Tech.[8] On October 15, 2011, he recorded 13 tackles, an interception and two pass deflections against the #3 ranked Oklahoma Sooners.[9]

Johnson finished college with 225 tackles, three sacks, six pass deflections, two forced fumbles and an interception.[3] In January 2012, he played in the 2012 East–West Shrine Game.[10]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0 in
(1.83 m)		 239 lb
(108 kg)		 32 3⁄8 in
(0.82 m)		 9 3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.78 s 4.38 s 7.32 s 36.0 in
(0.91 m)		 113 ft 0 in
(34.44 m)		 16.0 reps
All values from the NFL Scouting Combine.[11]

Denver Broncos

On April 29, 2012, Johnson signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent.[12] On August 31, 2012, he made the 53-man roster.[13] He played three seasons with the Broncos, starting in seven games for the team.

During the 2013 season, in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Johnson blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown. In Week 11 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he came in for a defensive play where he stopped Jamaal Charles at the goal line and denied him a touchdown on third down.[14]

On September 5, 2015, Johnson was released by the Broncos.[15]

Tennessee Titans

Johnson was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans on September 6, 2015.[16] He played in all 16 games, mostly on special teams, with the Titans where he recorded seven tackles during the 2015 season.[17]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on March 25, 2016.[18][19] On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Steelers as part of final roster cuts.[20] The following day, the Steelers signed him to a one-year, $760,000 contract after Bud Dupree suffered an injury.[21] He was placed on injured reserve on November 15, 2016 after suffering an ankle injury in Week 10.[22]

On February 15, 2017, Johnson signed a one-year contract extension with the Steelers.[23] On September 2, 2017, Johnson was released by the Steelers, but was re-signed two days later.[24][25] He was released on September 9, 2017, but was re-signed three days later.[26][27] He was released again on September 23, 2017.[28]

Baltimore Ravens

On October 17, 2017, Johnson signed with the Baltimore Ravens.[29]

Arizona Hotshots

On November 9, 2018, Johnson signed with the Arizona Hotshots of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) for the 2019 season.[30] In the season opener against the Salt Lake Stallions, Johnson intercepted quarterback Matt Linehan in the second half.[31] The league ceased operations in April 2019.[32]

Seattle Dragons

In October 2019, as part of the 2020 XFL Draft, Johnson was selected by the Seattle Dragons.[33] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[34]

Personal life

In 2014, Johnson started the Faith Motivated Foundation to help kids and adults to set and achieve goals, take care of their health and rely on their faith.[35]

References
  1. "Profile". rostermon.com.
  2. "A LONG, HARD CLIMB FOR BRONCOS' STEVEN JOHNSON". espn.go.com.
  3. "Steven Johnson Statistics". sports-reference.com.
  4. "North Dakota State 6, Kansas 3 Box score". sports-reference.com.
  5. "New Mexico State 16, Kansas 42 Box score". sports-reference.com.
  6. "2011 Phil Steele's Midseason All-Big 12 Third Team". philsteele.com.
  7. "McNeese State 24, Kansas 42 Box score". sports-reference.com.
  8. "Kansas 24, Georgia Tech 66 Box score". sports-reference.com.
  9. "(3) Oklahoma 47, Kansas 17 Box score". sports-reference.com.
  10. "Steven Johnson Accepts Invitation To Play In East-West Shrine Game". kuathletics.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  11. Steven Johnson NFL Combine profile
  12. "Broncos announce acquisition of 12 free agents". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  13. "Rookie Steven Johnson makes Denver Broncos' 53-man roster". kusports.com.
  14. "Steven Johnson Goal Line Stop Against Jamaal Charles". YouTube.com. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  15. Swanson, Ben (September 5, 2015). "Broncos make 22 roster moves to get 53-man roster". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  16. "Titans Trade for Browns RB; Claim Two Linebackers". TitansOnline.com. September 5, 2015. Archived from the original on February 16, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  17. Alper, Josh. "Steelers sign Steven Johnson". profootballtalk.nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  18. Varley, Teresa. "Steelers add LB Steven Johnson". steelers.com. Pittsburgh Steelers. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  19. Bouchette, Ed. "Steelers sign former Broncos, Titans linebacker Steven Johnson". post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  20. Labriola, Bob (September 3, 2016). "Steelers cut to 53, trade for CB". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017.
  21. Varley, Teresa. "Roster moves continue, Dupree on IR". Steelers.com.
  22. "Steelers Place Johnson on IR; Re-Sign Fort". Steelers.com. November 15, 2016.
  23. Varley, Teresa (February 15, 2017). "Johnson re-signs with the Steelers". Steelers.com.
  24. "Steelers trim roster to 53". Steelers.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018.
  25. "Roster moves continue for Steelers". Steelers.com. September 4, 2017.
  26. Varley, Teresa (September 9, 2017). "Bell activated for Browns game". Steelers.com.
  27. Varley, Teresa (September 12, 2017). "Steelers re-sign Johnson". Steelers.com.
  28. Varley, Teresa (September 23, 2017). "Steelers promote Fort to active roster". Steelers.com.
  29. Mink, Ryan (October 17, 2017). "Ravens Sign Former Veteran Steelers Inside Linebacker". BaltimoreRavens.com.
  30. "32 Players Sign New Contracts with the Alliance". AAF.com. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  31. Greene, Dana (February 11, 2019). "Stallions lose in franchise debut at Arizona, 38-22". abc4.com.
  32. Michael Rothstein, Seth Wickersham (June 13, 2019). "Inside the short, unhappy life of the Alliance of American Football". ESPN. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  33. Bender, Bill (October 21, 2019). "XFL Draft picks 2019: Complete results, rosters, players for new football league". Sporting News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  34. Condotta, Bob (April 10, 2020). "XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue". SeattleTimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  35. Jhabvala, Nicki. "Steven Johnson proving his worth at linebacker for Broncos". denverpost.com. Denver Post. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
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