Who is Josh Johnson? 3 facts about the New York Jets QB
For the New York Jets, Thursday night's visit to Indianapolis provided deja vu all over again in the worst way.
Less than a week after instant sensation Mike White came off the bench to guide the cursed Metropolitans to an upset win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Jets have been forced to turn to yet another reserve quarterback in the wake of Zach Wilson's injury.
White, who threw for 405 yards in last Sunday's win over the former AFC North leaders, kept the green magic going with a 19-yard scoring pass to Elijah Moore but has not returned to a prime-time tilt against the Colts due to an apparent wrist injury. Wright was labeled questionable to return to the game, which the Colts led by a 42-23 tally in the fourth quarter. Johnson managed to lower the deficit with a scoring touchdown pass to Elijah Moore, the ninth of his NFL career and first as a member of the Jets.
Josh Johnson entered the game for the Jets, having previously appeared in the aforementioned win over the Bengals when White had to leave for concussion evaluation. Though a comeback was highly unlikely, Johnson managed to slightly narrow the deficit with touchdown passes to Elijah Moore and Ryan Griffin, his first as a member of the Jets.
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Who is Josh Johnson?
He's a new kind of San Diego Charger
Those seeking a football fix in San Diego have seen professional chances denied to them through the Chargers' departure and the Alliance of American Football's Fleet's folding. Mid-major college teams have been more than happy to pick up the slack: the San Diego State Aztecs ranked 24th in the initial College Football Playoff rankings while Johnson's alma mater of the University of San Diego has earned 11 conference titles since 2005.
Johnson was part of the initial rise of Torero football, working with former Super Bowl combatant and current University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to bring the USD program to unprecedented heights.
The current Jets tallied a jaw-dropping 113 touchdown passes over three seasons and finished third in Walter Payton Award voting (Football Championship Subdivision's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy previously won by Steve McNair, Tony Romo, and Cooper Kupp). He later became the first USD player to hear his name called at the NFL Draft, as Tampa Bay chose him in the fifth round of 2008.
He's here so he doesn't get fined
If the Jets want to bolster their run game, it's possible they could ask Johnson to convince his cousins to come out of retirement. His cousin is none other than legendary rusher Marshawn Lynch. The two co-starred on Oakland (CA) Tech's high school football team together. His family tree also includes Baltimore Ravens cornerback and former All-Pro Marcus Peters.
He's left a mark in more leagues than one
Johnson's travels have been relatively well documented. The list of cities he's worked through would rival that of Johnny Cash: his time with the Jets has afforded him the chance to play in New York... the 16th football city where he has shown up. This is, in fact, his second term with the Jets, as he briefly spent parts of the 2015 preseason in green. Johnson also spent most of the 2016 campaign with the Jets' blue MetLife Stadium co-tenants, one of countless backups to Eli Manning.
In addition to his expansive list of NFL squads, Johnson has also racked up tenure in several ill-fated leagues: Johnson made spring football history as the original pick of the AAF's QB Draft, appropriately chosen by the aforementioned Fleet. Though Johnson never played a down as a member of the doomed AAF, he was the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Wildcats in the rebooted XFL before the league's COVID-induced shutdown. Ironically, one of Johnson's last starts as a Wildcat before the league's cancelation came against the New York Guardians at the Jets' current stomping ground at MetLife Stadium.