So many stops for 49ers QB Johnson
Oakland native has been with 13 teams in NFL
He’s been employed in the NFL, UFL, AAF and XFL.
He’s played for both headcoaching Harbaughs ( Jim and John), both Grudens ( Jon and Jay) and has played for so many teams that the Oakland native jokes his garage is packed with playbooks.
But Josh Johnson, 34, the 49ers’ new practicesquad quarterback, turned serious when asked a challenging question: Can he name each of his employers in his one of a kind football life?
His answer lasted 44 seconds and included just one pause. Working in reverse chronological order, Johnson ticked off eight teams before he was briefly stumped.
“Where was I was before Baltimore?” Johnson said to himself, sounding mildly irritated. “… Was it Buffalo?”
Correct. The Ravens and Bills are part of Johnson’s pigskin path that includes 13 NFL teams, along with detours with the Sacramento Mountain Lions ( United Football League), San Diego Fleet ( Alliance of American Football) and Los Angeles Wildcats ( XFL).
His latest stop, with the 49ers, probably will be like most others in a 13year career that has included three stints with the 49ers and two with the Bengals: He probably won’t throw a pass beyond the practice field.
The 49ers signed Johnson to the practice squad shortly after Jimmy Garoppolo reinjured his ankle Nov. 1 and was placed on injured reserve. Johnson likely won’t be promoted to the active roster unless starter Nick Mullens is sidelined. And Johnson likely won’t play in a game unless backup C. J. Beathard is forced out of action.
Johnson is used to this. He has not spent a full season out of the NFL, but he has made only eight career starts and
thrown 268 passes. He once went 2,553 days — from Dec. 12, 2011 to Dec. 8, 2018 — without throwing a pass in an NFL regularseason game.
Since the 49ers released him after training camp in 2012, Johnson often has endured periods of unemployment during which he has wondered if his NFL career is finally finished. And after his successful stint in the XFL ended prematurely in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, Johnson wondered if his age, coupled with a global health crisis, would conspire to force him into retirement.
However, the 49ers hosted him for a workout in August and were impressed. They told Johnson they’d be in touch if they needed a quarterback during the regular season.
“I knew it would be tough, me now being 34 and trying to make a young man’s league,” Johnson said. “I was just excited when they gave the opportunity to come work out at first. And they stuck to their word and I was the first guy they called when they needed a quarterback.”
Why do teams keep calling Johnson? It has something to do with those oldschool playbooks in his garage, relics which have been replaced with digital versions by NFL teams in recent seasons.
Johnson’s coach at the University of San Diego and his first two stops with the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh, and his coach as a rookie with the Buccaneers, Jon Gruden, are both football junkies with a reputation for developing QBs.
They impressed upon him the importance of being an X’sandO’s sponge. Gruden specifically stressed learning both the offensive and defensive systems to which he would be exposed during his career.
“I’ve done that,” Johnson said. “And I can go in there and speak the language. I understand what’s going on and can get acclimated. That’s of value. … Being able to be a guy that if you’re backup, you’re a resource in the room and an asset mentally. And I know no matter what, I’m going to always have that ability.”
Johnson has been teammates with two Super Bowl MVPs ( Eli Manning, Joe Flacco) and his nomadic career has given him the chance to make friends at most stops. For example, he counts eight members of the 49ers as former teammates.
But his most important connections might be those he has made with coaches. Before thenWashington head coach Jay Gruden added Johnson in 2018, he was Johnson’s offensive coordinator with the Bengals in 2013. And the Bills signed Johnson in 2015 when their offensive coordinator was Greg Roman, who had coached Johnson in 2012 and 2014 with the 49ers. In 2018, Jon Gruden reunited with Johnson in his first season with the Raiders.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan hadn’t crossed paths with Johnson before this season, but said the QB’s reputation was a reason the 49ers signed him.
“I’ve got a number of close friends in the league who have been with Josh and ( I) heard great things about him,” Shanahan said.
Johnson is proud of his staying power, but he’s still aiming to prove he can play.
The last time he was given an opportunity was in 2018 when
Washington signed him after seasonending injuries to Alex Smith and Colt McCoy. On Dec. 9, four days after he was signed, Johnson replaced Mark Sanchez during a blowout loss to the Giants and didn’t look like a QB who hadn’t attempted a pass in seven years: He completed 11 of 16 passes for 195 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and rushed for 45 yards and another score.
He was named the starter for the final three regularseason games and went 12, throwing two touchdown passes with three interceptions and posting a 61.8 passer rating.
Earlier this year, in the XFL, Johnson made four starts during the abbreviated season and threw 11 touchdown passes with two interceptions and had a leaguebest 106.3 rating.
“That was my first opportunity,” Johnson said, “to be a franchise quarterback.”
Johnson, who says his publicist has termed him the “entrepreneurial quarterback,” is prepared for his postNFL life.
He is the cofounder of an Esports league, the Ultimate Gaming League, which hosts gaming tournaments for youth, athletes and musicians. He also has an upscale clothing line through the Fam First Foundation, a partnership with his cousin, former Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch, which assists underserved youth in Oakland.
However, Johnson, who often works out with students at Oakland Tech, the high school he attended, isn’t ready to devote himself to those endeavors on a fulltime basis.
The littleused QB with the oneofakind career hasn’t given up on authoring a unique and improbable final chapter.
“I may not get an opportunity until I’m 38 or 39,” Johnson said. “But if I’m on a team every year until I’m 38 or 39 and then I play great for three years, that’s just another story within itself.”