Stevie Johnson

Stevie Johnson

refer to caption

Johnson with the 49ers in 2014
No. 11 San Diego Chargers
Position: Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1986-07-22) July 22, 1986
Place of birth: San Francisco, California
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight: 207 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school: Fairfield (CA) Rodriguez
College: Kentucky
NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 7 / Pick: 224
Career history
Roster status: Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2015
Receptions: 381
Receiving yards: 4,764
Receiving touchdowns: 34
Player stats at NFL.com

Steven John Johnson Jr.[1] (born July 22, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). Johnson was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft and has also played for the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Kentucky.

High school career

Johnson attended homeschool. He was only able to play football two years there as the school didn't add a football program until his junior year. After his senior season, he earned All-State and first-team All-Conference honors.He also played two years of basketball and was a second-team All-Conference selection.

College career

Johnson attended Chabot College in California from 2004 to 2005 before transferring to Kentucky. In his first season with the program, he recorded 12 catches for 159 yards (13.3 avg) and 1 touchdown. Against Clemson in the Music City Bowl, Johnson caught three balls for 67 yards.

The 2007 season was a historic one for Johnson as he compiled 61 receptions for 1,052 yards (17.2 avg) and 13 touchdowns. He became the fourth player in school history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving and his thirteen touchdowns in a season rank second on the school's season-record list.

During the season, he caught three game-winning touchdowns, including one against Clemson in the Music City Bowl.[2]

After the season, Johnson was selected to the College Football News' All-Southeastern Conference first-team.[3]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables
Ht WtArm length 40-yd dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert Broad BP
6 ft 2 in 210 lb888 in 4.46 s 1.49 s 2.56 s 4.26 s 7.07 s 32½ in 10 ft 1 in 20 reps
All values from NFL Combine, except 40-yard dash from Pro Day.

Buffalo Bills

Johnson was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round (224th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.

2008 season

His first reception came in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals, and went for 8 yards. In Week 15, against the New York Jets, Johnson caught his first touchdown reception, a two-yard pass from J. P. Losman. He caught his second touchdown a week later against the Denver Broncos on a three-yard pass from Trent Edwards. Johnson finished his rookie season with 10 receptions for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns.

2009 season

Battling a severe rib injury in 2009, he only managed 2 catches for 10 yards.

2010 season

Johnson in the 2011 preseason, while with the Bills.

After good off-season practices Johnson was able to win the starting receiver position before 2010 season. After losing his starting position early in the season, he regained it with a string of good performances. In a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Johnson had a career-game, catching 8 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, he set a career-high in catches with 11 for 145 yards against the Chicago Bears.

During Week 3 of the 2010 season in a game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, Johnson scored a fourth-quarter touchdown. After the score, he imitated a minuteman firing a rifle and fell to the ground backwards pretending to be shot. Johnson was fined $10,000 for the celebration.[4] In a Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, he caught 8 passes for 137 yards and a career-milestone 3 touchdowns. After his first touchdown, Johnson lifted his jersey to reveal the question "Why so serious?" written on his T-shirt. The quote, made famous by The Joker in the Batman movie sequel The Dark Knight,[5] was directed at Bengals wide receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco, who referred to themselves as Batman and Robin.[6] Johnson was fined $5,000 by the league office for the celebration.[7] After dropping a pass that led to a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in November, Johnson lamented on Twitter to God, "I PRAISE YOU 24/7!!!!!! AND IS THIS HOW YOU DO ME!!!!! YOU EXPECT ME TO LEARN FROM THIS??? HOW???!!! ILL NEVER FORGET THIS!! EVER!!! THX THO . . ."[8]

He had a breakout campaign in 2010 with 82 receptions, 1073 yards and 10 touchdowns. Following the season, Johnson was named the 2010 Vizio Top Value Performer for being the NFL player who outplayed his salary by the widest margin.[9]

2011 season

In 2011, Johnson's numbers fell a bit, posting 76 receptions for 1,004 yards and 7 touchdown receptions. According to Steve, he played the year with a torn groin and a broken hand.

During the 2011 season, Johnson was fined twice for excessive celebrations. The first was Week 12 against the New York Jets. Johnson pretended to shoot his leg and then fly like a Jet and pretended to crash, imitating Jets receiver Plaxico Burress. The second was during Week 17 against the New England Patriots, after scoring a touchdown, he lifted his jersey to reveal "Happy New Year!" written on his under-shirt. He was given a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty, and head coach Chan Gailey subsequently benched Johnson for the rest of the game, ending his season.[10]

2012 season

On March 5, 2012, Johnson signed a new 5-year contract with the Buffalo Bills worth $36.25 million with a signing bonus of $8.5 million.[11]

In the 2012 season, staying consistent with his statistics, he recorded 79 receptions for 1,046 yards and 6 touchdowns. He became the only receiver in Buffalo Bills history to record three consecutive 1,000 yard receiving seasons.

San Francisco 49ers

On May 9, 2014, after the Buffalo Bills acquired Sammy Watkins in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Bills traded Johnson to his hometown team San Francisco 49ers for a conditional fourth round pick in 2015 Draft that could become a third round selection.[12]

In the 2014 season Johnson posted the lowest numbers since his sophomore season, totaling 35 receptions for 435 yards and 3 touchdowns. On March 15, 2015, Johnson was released by the 49ers.[13]

San Diego Chargers

On March 17, 2015, Johnson signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the San Diego Chargers.[14] Johnson had a fast start to 2015, but was hampered by recurring injuries later through the season. He finished the season with 45 receptions for 497 yards and 3 touchdowns. [15]

On August 10, 2016, it was reported that Johnson would be out for the entirety of the 2016 season after having surgery to repair his meniscus.[16]

Career statistics

Season Team Games Receiving Rushing Fumbles
GP Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Att Yds Avg Lng TD FUM Lost
Regular season
2015 San Diego Chargers 10 45 497 11.0 34 3 - - - - - - 0
2014 San Francisco 49ers 13 35 435 12.4 32 3 - - - - - - 0
2013 Buffalo Bills 12 52 597 11.5 45 3 1 10 10 10 - - 1
2012 Buffalo Bills 16 79 1,046 13.2 63 6 - - - - - - 1
2011 Buffalo Bills 16 76 1,004 13.2 55 7 - - - - - - 0
2010 Buffalo Bills 16 82 1,073 13.1 45 10 - - - - - - 1
2009 Buffalo Bills 5 2 10 5 5 0 - - - - - - 0
2008 Buffalo Bills 11 10 102 10.2 21 2 1 6 6 - - - 0
Total 89 336 4,267 12.7 63 31 2 16 8 10 0 0 3
Postseason
No playoff appearances

Personal

Johnson is the cousin of bay-area rapper Ya Boy and Kawhi Leonard, forward for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[17]

In 2014, he showed off his multiple tattoos for PETA's "Ink not Mink" anti-fur campaign.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "ESPN Profile". ESPN.com.
  2. ↑ http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1116922
  3. ↑ http://cfn.scout.com/2/709895.html
  4. ↑ http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2010/10/1/1724442/bills-wr-johnson-fined-10000-for-td-celebration?ref=yahoo
  5. ↑ http://www.wben.com/-Why-So-Serious--Nets-Johnson-Serious-Fine/8645561
  6. ↑ https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Steve-Johnson-celebrates-TD-with-a-Joker-quote-o?urn=nfl-287840
  7. ↑ http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Bills-Steve-Johnson-fined-5000.html
  8. ↑ Cupp, S. E. (2010-12-01). "Steve Johnson's Twitter rant at God just the latest in a long line of questions during tribulations". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  9. ↑ http://topvalueperformer.com/
  10. ↑ http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7411260/buffalo-bills-bench-stevie-johnson-t-shirt-celebration-penalty-flag
  11. ↑ http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7647122/buffalo-bills-sign-stevie-johnson-extension
  12. ↑ Patra, Kevin (May 9, 2014). "San Francisco 49ers acquire Stevie Johnson from Bills". NFL.com. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
  13. ↑ Price, Taylor. "Stevie Johnson Released by 49ers". 49ers.com. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  14. ↑ Patra, Kevin (March 17, 2015). "Stevie Johnson, San Diego Chargers strike contract". NFL.com. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
  15. ↑ Eric D. Williams (May 20, 2016). "Stevie Johnson focused on staying healthy in second year with Chargers - San Diego Chargers Blog - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
  16. ↑ Rapoport, Ian (August 10, 2016). "Following surgery to repair his meniscus yesterday, #Chargers WR Stevie Johnson has learned he's out for the season, source said.". twitter.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  17. ↑ Henne, Ricky (August 3, 2015). "The Lightning Report". chargers.com. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Stevie Johnson Shows Off Ink for PETA," Inked, November 17, 2014.
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