Joining Browns in free agency was ‘no-brainer,’ ex-Rams captain says
John Johnson III called joining the Browns “a no-brainer” and “an opportunity of a lifetime” after he passed his physical and signed his contract Friday morning at team headquarters.
The Browns made their biggest splash of free agency when they struck a deal Monday with the former Los Angeles Rams captain and standout safety on a threeyear, $33.75 million deal, which includes $24 million guaranteed.
“With great power comes great responsibility,” Johnson said on Zoom. “I see it as I’ve got to come right in, get to work. Things that I was doing at the Rams, I can’t do that here. I have to be an even truer professional. People speak that I’m a true professional, but I’ve got to ramp things up a little bit. They invested in me, so I have to give them back what they invested in me.
“I’m looking forward to coming to work with a positive attitude, rubbing off on people and most importantly, winning. That’s the goal. That’s why they brought me in and to establish a great defense, which we have the foundation to do. But a guy like me, I feel wholeheartedly that we can take the next step.”
Johnson realizes the Browns reversed their fortunes last season, when they went 12-6, including 1-1 in the playoffs, and fans are hungry for more success. When he played football at Boston College, one of his roommates and teammates was Cleveland St. Ignatius High School graduate Kevin Kavalec. They reunited Thursday when Johnson arrived in Northeast Ohio.
“He loves the city. He will choose this place over anywhere. He had nothing but great things to say,” Johnson said. “Honestly, I knew that the fans loved their team and supported the team, but when I got here yesterday, people started to notice me already, so that just confirmed everything.”
Those fans know the Browns need to improve on defense to achieve the goal of reaching their first Super Bowl. Johnson and the Rams advanced to Super Bowl LIII at the end of the 2018 season but lost 13-3 to the New England Patriots. Last season, the Rams were eliminated in the divisional round of the playoffs like the Browns. A glaring difference between the two teams, though, is the Rams had the NFL’s top defense, ranking first in fewest yards (281.9) and points (18.5) allowed per game.
“Coming from the No. 1 defense, you have [defensive tackle] Aaron Donald and [cornerback] Jalen Ramsey. I see [cornerback] Denzel Ward and [defensive end] Myles Garrett as the same thing,” Johnson said. “What I see right now is just a lot of guys who can play football, who love to play football and who have played great football. I just want to come in and be a leader and just give them tips that I have learned over my career and things that I saw even last year that got us to such a great defense.”
Since the Browns drafted him first overall in 2017, Garrett has been chasing the NFL defensive player of the year award Donald has claimed three times. Johnson spent the past four seasons with the Rams, so he will have insight.
“Aaron Donald is probably the hardest-working person I’ve seen in my life,” Johnson said. “It’s tireless. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Aaron, do you have a chill button? Can you stop?’
“I’m just looking forward to getting in here with Myles. I’ve heard great things about him, as well, and that he’s pretty similar, so it’s going to translate to Sundays . ... I know he’s going to rush his tail off, so I’m going to cover my tail off and tackle my tail off for him and be a great teammate.”
Johnson, 25, is also eager to work with safeties Ronnie Harrison and Grant Delpit, who didn’t play as a rookie second-round pick last season after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon Aug. 24 during training camp. Johnson’s primary job is expected to be free safety, but defensive coordinator Joe Woods loves to move versatile defenders around in the back end based on matchups. Woods wants to deploy Johnson, Harrison and Delpit together in sub packages.
“Hopefully we can all be on the field at the same time giving quarterbacks headaches and just moving all around and just doing different things from a disguise standpoint,” Johnson said. “It’s just something that I’m looking forward to.
“When you think about a three-safety contour, usually it’s going to be like a dime linebacker or a slot corner, like one of us playing a nickel type of position, and all three of us are more than capable of doing that.”
Since the Rams drafted Johnson in the third round in 2017, he has started 54 of the 60 games in which he’s appeared, including six in the playoffs. He has 350 tackles, 32 passes defensed, eight interceptions and a forced fumble in his 54 regular-season games.
He played all 18 games last season (two in the playoffs), led the Rams with 105 tackles and added eight passes defensed and an interception. He finished third among the 94 qualifying safeties ProFootballFocus.com graded. He also ranked fourth at his position in coverage.
Johnson should give the Browns a significant upgrade over veteran safeties Karl Joseph and Andrew Sendejo, both of whom became unrestricted free agents Wednesday after playing in Cleveland last season on one-year contracts.
“He’s a dynamic player that will fit in well with our group,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of Johnson in a news release. “On top of that, I’m excited about the person, as much as I am about the player.”
Stefanski praised Johnson’s leadership. Johnson relayed the defensive play calls to his Rams teammates last season. He said he would gladly do the same for the Browns if called upon. Middle linebacker B.J. Goodson handled those duties last season. Now he’s an unrestricted free agent.
“Having the familiarity with the defense, being comfortable in the scheme and being the player version of the defensive coordinator on the field, that’s something that I’m more than capable of, and I enjoyed it,” Johnson said. “I feel like I was the glue to that defense. I feel like if I was not out there, things would have been a little different. I just feel like when guys turn around and they see No. 43 out there, they’re comfortable and they know that they can rely on me.”
Stefanski said the Browns are thrilled about Johnson’s “diverse skill set … that will allow us to expand our packages.” Yet Johnson isn’t the only versatile defensive back General Manager Andrew Berry plucked from the Rams.
The Browns and cornerback Troy Hill, a 29-year-old Youngstown native, reached an agreement Thursday on a multi-year contract. A fulltime starter last season, Hill has experience playing outside corner and covering the slot as a nickelback.
“When [Hill] texted me saying he was coming here, I didn’t believe him,” Johnson said. “I thought he was just talking, and then I saw the news break, and I was just like, ‘OK. It’s business now.’ I’m glad we have him here. I know you all will love him here.
“It’s kind of like a new journey, and it’s kind of good to have somebody who you’re comfortable with here. We can meet everyone together. It will be fun.”
In the meantime, Johnson said he’ll connect with linebacker Mack Wilson when he returns to Los Angeles because the Browns player is training in California. Johnson said he has reached out to quarterback Baker Mayfield and plans to contact Harrison and Delpit.
All of it has contributed to Johnson becoming convinced he found “a perfect fit” in free agency.