XFL blocks QB Johnson from signing with Lions
WASHINGTON Potentially in dire straits at quarterback for their Thanksgiving Day game against the Bears, the Lions might have wanted to bring back Josh Johnson. After all, the veteran quarterback spent part of the pre-season with Detroit and showed last year with the Washington Redskins that he could come in on short notice and provide a spark.
However, Johnson recently signed with the XFL. And according to a report Monday, the fledgling league isn’t letting him go.
ESPN cited a source in reporting that the Lions had an “interest in signing” Johnson, but the XFL “blocked them.”
Lions coach Matt Patricia said Monday he wasn’t really sure what happened.
The XFL couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.
As it readies to begin its inaugural season in February, the XFL has been building the rosters for its eight teams, including with a draft last month. According to Pro Football Talk, the contracts being offered by the league state that they’re “non-negotiable” and that players may only defect to the NFL after their respective teams’ seasons are over.
Johnson, 33, was recently added to the XFL and assigned to the Los Angeles Wildcats. An Oakland native and former college star at San Diego, Johnson was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2008 draft and went on to play with the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers.
Despite not having thrown a regular-season NFL pass since 2011, Johnson was signed by the Redskins last year to back up starting quarterback Mark Sanchez, who himself had been added in midseason and pressed into service after injuries to Alex Smith and Colt Mccoy. When Sanchez became the next to fall by the wayside, Johnson made his first start in seven years and led Washington to a win over the Jaguars.
Over four appearances with the Redskins, including three starts in which he went 1-2, Johnson completed 57.1 per cent of his passes for three touchdowns, four interceptions and a 69.4 passer rating. He added 120 yards and a score on 23 rushing attempts.
The XFL also announced last week it signed Taylor Heinicke, a former backup quarterback with the Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers, and Chase Litton, formerly a practice squad quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Former NFL quarterbacks signed by the XFL include Cardale Jones, Landry Jones, Matt Mcgloin and Aaron Murray. According to reports, they and Johnson, among others, have been classified as Tier 1 players by the league, meaning they’re set to have salaries of about $500,000.
That’s far more than most XFL players will make, as the league reportedly is set to pay the majority of its players salaries with an average of about $55,000.
For the past three weeks, the Lions have been starting Jeff Driskel at quarterback in place of injured stalwart Matthew Stafford, but Driskel was listed Monday as having a hamstring issue.
The only other active quarterback currently on the Lions’ roster is David Blough, who went undrafted out of Purdue this spring before signing with the Browns in May and getting traded to Detroit in August.
The Washington Post