| No. 37 | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Safety |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | (1989-07-22)July 22, 1989 (age 35) Olympia, Washington, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Tumwater (WA) |
| College: | Eastern Washington |
| NFL draft: | 2012: 4th round, 135th pick |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats atPro Football Reference | |
Matt Johnson (born July 22, 1989) is a formerAmerican footballsafety in theNational Football League (NFL) for theDallas Cowboys. He playedcollege football atEastern Washington University.
Johnson attendedTumwater High School, where he practicedfootball,basketball andbaseball. He received All-league honors three years in a row infootball.
As a senior, he collected 53 tackles, two interceptions and one fumble recovery while helping his team reach the Class 2A state semifinals. He was named second-team 2A All-Evergreen League, after missing five games because of ahigh ankle sprain. He also helped his school reach the 2A District IVbasketball tournament and win the District IVbaseball championship.
Johnson accepted a football scholarship fromEastern Washington University. As aredshirt freshman, he posted 11 starts, 83 tackles (second on the team), five tackles for loss and four interceptions. He made 10 tackles againstTexas Tech University. He had two interceptions againstWestern Washington University. He made 12 tackles against theUniversity of Northern Colorado.
As a sophomore, he tallied 101 tackles and six interceptions, the latter leading the conference. He had 16 tackles againstWeber State University. He had four interceptions againstPortland State University, tying a single-game conference record. He had 14 tackles against theUniversity of Montana andMontana State University.
As a junior, he helped the team win the NCAA Division I FCS National Championship, while registering 105 tackles (third on the team), five interceptions, eight passes defended, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also contributed to the defense being ranked number one nationally with 26 interceptions and 47 turnovers forced. He had two interceptions against theUniversity of Montana. He was named a team co-captain along with his twin brother Zach.
As a senior, he missed the final four games with an injured shoulder, recording 52 tackles (fourth on the team), eight tackles for loss (led the team), two interceptions, 1.5 sacks, one quarterback hurry, two forced fumbles and earned All-Big Sky conference honors for the second straight season. He had four tackles (two for loss) and one sack against theUniversity of Washington. He injured his shoulder against theUniversity of South Dakota, but still managed to intercept one pass and then had back-to-back games with nine tackles /against theUniversity of Montana andMontana State University, while fighting through the injury.
He finished with 45 starts, 341 tackles (fifth in school history and eighth in theBig Sky Conference), 22 tackles for loss, 30 passes defended, 17 interceptions (tied for the most in school history) and six forced fumbles (the most in school history).
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | 4.52 s | 4.07 s | 7.01 s | 38 in (0.97 m) | 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m) | 18 reps | |||||
| All values from Eastern Washingtonpro day | ||||||||||||
Johnson was selected by theDallas Cowboys in the fourth round (135th overall) of the2012 NFL draft,[1] which at the time was seen as a reach by the media.[2] As a rookie, he was ineligible to participate in organized team activities until Eastern Washington's classes ended. After experiencing recurring hamstring issues during preseason, the team still kept him on the active roster, but after not being able to recover and play in any games during the regular season, he was placed on theinjured reserve list on November 17,2012.[3]
Coming into2013, there were high expectations that he could earn the startingfree safety position, but he was placed on theinjured reserve list on August 31,2013, with a sprained left foot that he suffered in thePro Football Hall of Fame Game.[4]
After battling hamstring issues during the previous years, on July 29,2014, he suffered a hamstring injury in training camp that kept him out of the preseason. On August 27, he was waived injured and was placed on theinjured reserve list, before being released with an injury settlement on September 3.[5]
He announced his retirement on February 27,2015.
Johnson played alongside his twin brother Zach Johnson in high school and college.