Johnson retires from sport after latest injury
Cal defensive lineman Brett Johnson, who missed the 2021 and ’22 seasons because of serious injuries but returned to play in all 12 regular-season games in 2023, announced his retirement from football with an Instagram post Wednesday morning.
Johnson suffered an injury to his right knee in the Bears’ regular-season finale, a 33-7 win over UCLA in the Rose Bowl. The injury forced him to miss Cal’s 34-14 loss to Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl.
“I need to step away from the game, prioritize my health,” Johnson said in a Zoom news conference Wednesday morning.
Johnson had thrived as a freshman and a sophomore before an auto accident that necessitated hip surgery cost him the 2021 season. Then in a practice barely a week before the 2022 opener, he tore the ACL in his right knee, which forced him to sit out that season.
The 6-foot-5, 295-pound alum of Desert Vista High-Phoenix had 23 tackles in 2023. Simply getting back on the field after missing two seasons rated as quite an accomplishment.
“To step away from the game is difficult. To step away from my teammates is difficult. To step away from this lifestyle is difficult,” Johnson said. “It is definitely going to be something that is going to be hard at first, for sure, but I am very much excited, very much looking forward to the opportunities that I’m sure will be abundant at this next stage of my life.”
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said Johnson “is one of those guys that’s going to be able to handle whatever adversity comes at him because of some of the things he went through here.”
An American Studies major, Johnson said he’s not sure what his career path will be. “I’m in a position where I feel like I could put my feet anywhere and do OK,” Johnson said. “I’ve just got to figure out where I want to put my feet.”
Johnson mentioned coaching or mentoring as possibilities for his future.
“I feel like I can be able to help people that are struggling with mental, emotional, physical issues,” Johnson said. “What got me through all of this hardship and whatnot throughout my career was the people around me — and I want to be a person that
is around people that need support the way I did.”