Two years of adversity leads Pennington’s Johnson to Super Bowl
MIAMI » Mercer County will be represented on Super Bowl Sunday.
Former Pennington School star Dontae Johnson is expected to suit up for the San Francisco 49ers, and is the school’s first alum to play in the big game. The 28-yearold was born in Plainfield and actually went to South Plainfield High for a year, but transferred to Pennington for the final three years of his high school career.
The six-foot-two, 200 pound cornerback says that, even back then, he dreamed about one day getting to play in the biggest game of the year.
“Oh, for sure,” he told The Trentonian at the 49ers team hotel. “I started playing football at a young age, maybe around five or six, and playing in this particular game, the Super Bowl, it’s always been a dream of mine. I’m honored and extremely blessed to be here.”
Like many in the area, Johnson grew up as an Eagles fan, and idolized safety Brian
Dawkins. He rattled off a handful of the names of Philly players he watched in the Super Bowl growing up, and was asked if it’s hit him that he’s now able to add his name to the list of players who’ll get an opportunity on the big stage.
“I feel like it’s hit me the day after we won the NFC Championship,” he said. “It’s kind of settled down, but it’ll hit me again when it comes to the night before the Super Bowl. It’s one of those moments where it’s surreal, and you’ve got to look at it as a true blessing, because you never know when the next opportunity is going to come. It’s a huge honor and a great blessing, and I’m honestly glad just to be here with my teammates and to share this with them.”
It didn’t always look like it was going to go this way, however.
After an impressive collegiate career at North Carolina State, Johnson was taken by the 49ers in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and spent the first four years of his career there on his rookie contract, collecting 135 total tackles and two interceptions along the way.
It was after that four-year run, however, where the roller coaster ride began. A coveted free agent, Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks for the 2018 season, where he was expected to be one of their starting corners. But, a groin injury before the year started put him on the sidelines, and Seattle released him off of injured reserve shortly thereafter.
The Buffalo Bills quickly signed him, but after getting just 27 total snaps for them in four weeks, they released him at the end of October. The Arizona Cardinals brought him in for three weeks, then the Chiefs signed him and released him that off-season.
He re-signed with the 49ers prior to the start of this season, and played well in the preseason, only to once again be let go as part of final roster cuts in the end of August. The Los Angeles Chargers signed Johnson several days prior to their second game of the season, and he appeared in two contests for them exclusively as a special teamer before they released him at the end of September.
The 49ers brought him back in early October, and he played in five games for San Francisco before they released him again in November, only to bring him back on December 11 and play him in two additional games.
After a career’s worth of transactions in just two seasons, to have it all culminate with an appearance in the Super Bowl has been extra special for Johnson.
“It’s been so hectic and everything, so it’s been rewarding and it makes me look at every opportunity as a blessing, just because I had the game taken away from me and I had to bounce around a couple places,” he said. “At the end of the day, I love what I do and I love playing with these guys, but it’s been tough. It was tough on me, but it was mostly tough on my family, having to move my wife around and her not knowing what was happening next. Just being back in a place of familiarity is really good just from being here before, so I know the organization and I knew a lot of the guys when I came back. It’s a blessing to be back here.”
Johnson said he never considered quitting the game he loves despite all of the adversity of late, and actually feels as though he’s better off for having gone through the experience. “I feel like I learned a lot about myself,” he explained. “It helped me grow up and really mature into being a better man, a better husband, a better son, a better teammate. Just because I’ve been through that experience now and I can tell a bunch of people about those different experiences in the league.”
Now, he’s one win away from the greatest experience of them all.
“It would be a dream come true,” Johnson said. “It would be one of those things where all the hard work would have paid off. Trusting the course and believing in the process, it would pay off.”