Josh Johnson was drafted in 2008. But after 15 seasons and stints in the United Football League (UFL), XFL, and Alliance of American Football (AAF), he made his first NFL playoff appearance Sunday afternoon.
That’s when the journeyman became the fourth quarterback to take snaps for the San Francisco 49ers this season, entering in the first quarter of an NFC Conference Championship showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles. He entered in relief of Brock Purdy, the rookie who’d been the final pick of last spring’s NFL Draft and who had started the season as the team’s third-string passer.
But Purdy suffered an injury to his throwing arm early against the league’s top-rated pass rush, fumbling in the process.
REDDICK TUFF@Haason7Reddick | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/lVBtrlrvUk
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 29, 2023
That turned the offense over to Johnson, a 36-year-old emergency option who started off his third appearance of the season in a drive that featured both a sack and a delay of game penalty. So who is Johnson, and does he have a chance to guide the Niners to Super Bowl 57?
Johnson has played for 17 different pro football teams, including the 49ers four times
Johnson has bounced around the league, especially as an offseason or practice squad roster member. 2022 marked his fourth stint as a 49er — his first came in 2012. Here’s the full list of teams who’ve employed Johnson for some period of time, even if he failed to make a regular season appearance for them:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2008–2011)
- San Francisco 49ers (2012)
- Sacramento Mountain Lions (UFL, 2012)
- Cleveland Browns (2012)
- Cincinnati Bengals (2013)
- San Francisco 49ers (2014)
- Cincinnati Bengals (2015)
- New York Jets (2015)
- Indianapolis Colts (2015)
- Buffalo Bills (2015)
- Baltimore Ravens (2016)
- New York Giants (2016)
- Houston Texans (2017)
- Oakland Raiders (2018)
- Washington Redskins (2018)
- San Diego Fleet (AAF, 2019)
- Detroit Lions (2019)
- Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL, 2020)
- San Francisco 49ers (2020–2021)
- New York Jets (2021)
- Baltimore Ravens (2021)
- Denver Broncos (2022)
- San Francisco 49ers (2022–present)
He'd only thrown two passes in 2022 before being thrown into the fire vs. the Eagles
Johnson was San Francisco’s fourth choice behind center — the emergency-emergency option. He’d only played in two games this season after being signed in December following injuries to opening day starter Trey Lance and longtime presence Jimmy Garoppolo. His two passes came in the final drive of a 35-7 blowout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 14.
He's one of eight active NFL players who were drafted in 2008
The other eight are:
- Matt Ryan
- Joe Flacco
- Duane Brown
- DeSean Jackson
- Calais Campbell
- Chad Henne
- Matthew Slater
All were drafted before Johnson was selected in the fifth round.
He's 1-8 as a starter in the NFL
That one victory came in 2018 with Washington. It was over a 5-11 Jacksonville Jaguars team. Good luck, Niners.
