Johnson hopscotches across NFL in pursuit of dream
QB lands with Bills, but for how long?
If there’s one thing quarterback Josh Johnson has learned in his nomadic NFL existence, it’s this: You better pack light.
Johnson has traveled with one suitcase stuffed with a few pairs of underwear, some T-shirts, two pairs of pants and a toothbrush and a backpack full of NFL notes with him as he crisscrossed the country this fall, with stints on four NFL teams and tryouts with two others since the preseason began in August.
The latest stop for Johnson, 29, is Buffalo. He signed with the Bills on Tuesday, less than a day after he was released for a second time by the Indianapolis Colts. He was also with the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets in the preseason, and he has worked out for the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.
Since he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008 out of the University of San Diego, he’s also spent time on the rosters of the Cleveland Browns (2012), Bengals (2013) and San Francisco 49ers (2014).
It’s a hectic NFL lifestyle that includes many red-eye flights, rental cars and lonely nights in hotels, but Johnson loves it.
“The hardest part, honestly, is dealing with the outside world’s perception of what’s really going on. The perception is, people see you get cut over and over, so they think you’re not working being an NFL player,” Johnson told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. “The way I look at it is, I’ve got an opportunity. There are multiple teams that, if I’m on the street, have shown interest in me, so obviously I’m heading in the right direction.”
The craziest stretch of Johnson’s professional life might have been the one he just endured. He arrived in Indianapolis on Oct. 2 after an overnight flight from Oakland, worked out and signed with the Colts and then suited up as the backup quarterback Oct. 4 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was released Oct. 5 and flew home to Oakland, only to have the Colts call again, re-sign him Oct. 6 and book him on another red-eye flight back to Indianapolis. He practiced the next morning, flew with the team to Houston that afternoon and was Matt Hasselbeck’s backup for the Thursday game Oct. 8 against the Texans.
He was still in Indianapolis on Monday when he got the call that he was again being released and hadn’t had time to get on a plane back to California before the Bills booked him on a flight to Buffalo, where he was signed to provide depth with starter Tyrod Taylor dealing with a knee injury suffered Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
He rarely allows himself to think ahead, beyond that day’s meetings with coaches and the next day’s practices. But with the Bills traveling to London next week to play the Jaguars, Johnson is having his passport mailed to him — just in case he’s still on the roster.
“I’ve been sleeping at a lot of hotels, been sleeping on the planes. That’s pretty much the way life is, just an on-the-go lifestyle,” Johnson said.
And one, he said, that wouldn’t be possible without the support of a large extended family back in Oakland, who text and call with positive messages. That family includes his cousin, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. The cousins spend much of their offseasons together doing charity work in their hometown, and when they hold camps for young football players, they make sure to talk about how differently their NFL careers have played out. It’s easy for kids to look at Lynch and think of the lifestyle of an NFL star, yet few imagine being the 53rd man on the roster, like Johnson has often been.
He understands his situation isn’t ideal. But as long as each disappointing phone call is followed by another with a new opportunity, Johnson is going to keep trying to find a long-term NFL home. Though he hasn’t appeared in a game since 2012 and hasn’t started one since 2011, retirement isn’t an option.
“I understand the situations I walk into,” Johnson said. “If I wasn’t good enough, maybe, but I don’t feel like I’m not good enough.”