 Johnson with the Cleveland Browns in 2014 | |||||||||
| No. 12, 80 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1989-02-27)February 27, 1989 (age 36) Elsmere, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 217 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Lloyd Memorial (Erlanger, Kentucky) | ||||||||
| College | Eastern Kentucky (2009) Grand Valley State (2010-2012) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2013: 7th round, 216th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Charles David Johnson (born February 27, 1989)[1] is an American former professionalfootballwide receiver. He was selected by theGreen Bay Packers in the seventh round of the2013 NFL draft out ofGrand Valley State. He was also a member of theCleveland Browns,Minnesota Vikings,Carolina Panthers,New York Jets andPhiladelphia Eagles. In 2019, he played for theAlliance of American Football on theOrlando Apollos and led the league with 687 receiving yards in eight games.
Johnson graduated fromLloyd Memorial High School inErlanger, Kentucky, where he was a four-sport star in football, baseball, basketball and track. He played as awide receiver for the Lloyd Memorial Juggernautsfootball team. He earned All-state and All-conference honors as a junior and senior. As a junior, he hauled in 26 catches for 600 yards and six touchdowns. In his senior year, he caught 38 passes for 567 yards and fivetouchdowns.
Johnson was also a star in baseball and track at Lloyd Memorial. Johnson first started playingbaseball as ashortstop andpitcher, but switched to football as a junior. Intrack & field, Johnson lettered all four years competing in sprints and jumps. At the 2007KHSAA 2A State T&F Meet, he took fourth in the100-meter dash with a time of 11.05 seconds, while also placing third in the200-meter dash with a time of 23.13 seconds.[2] In 2010, he captured a regional title in thepole vault after clearing a height of 3.53 meters (11 feet, 6 inches).[3]
Prior to attendingGVSU, Johnson spent one year atEastern Kentucky University, where he appeared in 11 games and caught three passes for 63 yards. He also attendedAntelope Valley College for one year, where he caught 24 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns.
In 2010, Johnson wasredshirted and did not play. As a junior in 2011, he caught 56 passes for 1,030 yards and 15 touchdowns, breaking the 100-yard receiving mark in five games. He was named a first-team All-GLIAC GVSU Offensive Skill Player of the Year and GVSU Offensive Skill Player of the Year. In his senior year, he caught 72 passes for 1,199 yards and 16 touchdowns.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | 30+1⁄2 in (0.77 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.39 s | 1.53 s | 2.51 s | 4.31 s | 7.04 s | 39.5 in (1.00 m) | 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) | 14 reps | |
| All values from GVSU'SPro Day[4] | ||||||||||||
Johnson was not invited to perform at the2013 NFL Scouting Combine, but he performed well at GVSU's "Pro Day", as he would have placed among the top performers at the combine in the40-yard dash (4.39 seconds),vertical jump (391⁄2 inches) andbroad jump (11 ft 1 in). Before his Pro Day, he had guaranteed that he'd run a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash.[5]
Johnson was selected in the seventh round with the 216th overall pick by theGreen Bay Packers in the2013 NFL draft.[6] He spent the preseason with the Packers before being signed to the practice squad on September 2, 2013.
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Johnson was signed by theCleveland Browns off the Packers practice squad on October 12, 2013, four days before being placed on reserved/non-football injury.[7]
On September 20, 2014, theMinnesota Vikings signed Johnson off the Browns'practice squad.[8] After spending the entire 2013 season on the Packers and Browns practice squads, Johnson had a breakout first season for the Vikings in 2014. He was inactive on game day for the opening 2 contests of the season, but ended up playing in 11 games with 6 starts. In Week 5, he appeared in his first career NFL game against the team that drafted him at Green Bay, finishing the game with a catch for seven yards. In his first start against theGreen Bay Packers on November 23, he caught his first career touchdown on a 22-yard pass fromTeddy Bridgewater. In the Vikings' overtime victory against theNew York Jets in Week 14, Johnson contributed to the win with his first-career 100-yard performance, ending the day with 103 yards on 4 catches including a career-long 56-yard touchdown.[9] For the season, Johnson was the Vikings third leading receiver with 31 catches, 475 yards and 2 touchdowns and was named and emerged as a starting receiver for the team replacingCordarrelle Patterson, who was drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft (187 selections before Johnson was).
Dealing with injuries for the most part of the preseason, Johnson failed to establish himself in the lineup asMike Wallace earned the starting role in training camp. Johnson ended up starting 4 games while appearing in 11. In the Vikings eighth game of the season against theChicago Bears, the game was tied 20–20 with just one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. On a 2nd-and-7 with 36 seconds remaining, Bridgewater threw an up-for-grabs pass in Johnson's direction and he hauled it in for a 35-yard gain (longest of the season) that set up the game-winning field goal byBlair Walsh.[10] He was inactive for the final 3 games of the season including the Wild Card Playoff game.
FollowingMike Wallace's departure in the offseason, Johnson was named the starting wide receiver oppositeStefon Diggs for the 2016 season. After three disappointing games to start the season in which he only managed to catch 3 passes for 20 yards, Johnson had a notable game against theNew York Giants in Week 4, when he hauled in two passes for 70 yards, with a long of 40 yards.[11]
On March 10, 2017, Johnson signed a one-year contract with theCarolina Panthers.[12] On July 25, 2017, Johnson was waived/injured by the Panthers and placed on injured reserve after having knee surgery.[13]
On April 9, 2018, Johnson signed with theNew York Jets.[14] He was released on August 31, 2018.[15]
In 2019, Johnson joined theOrlando Apollos of theAlliance of American Football.[16]
On February 17, 2019, against the San Antonio Commanders, Johnson had a staggering 7 catches for 192 yards and 1 touchdown. Johnson holds the record for the most receiving yards in a game in AAF history.[17] Johnson led the AAF in receiving the entire season, totaling 687 yards receiving and five touchdowns on 45 catches in eight games.
After the AAF suspended football operations, Johnson signed a one-year contract with thePhiladelphia Eagles on April 9, 2019.[18] He was placed oninjured reserve with an ankle injury on August 28, 2019.[19] He was released from injured reserve with an injury settlement on September 7.
Johnson joined the Alphas ofThe Spring League for its 2020 Fall season.[20]
| Season | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FUM | Lost | ||
| 2013 | Cleveland Browns | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | Minnesota Vikings | 12 | 6 | 31 | 475 | 15.3 | 56 | 2 | 1 | -11 | -11.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 4 | 9 | 127 | 14.1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Minnesota Vikings | 12 | 6 | 20 | 232 | 11.6 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 39 | 17 | 60 | 834 | 13.9 | 56 | 2 | 1 | -11 | -11.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Media related toCharles Johnson (wide receiver, born 1989) at Wikimedia Commons