Some sad news to report as former Pittsburgh Steelers’ WR Charles Johnson has died at the age of 50, according to North Carolina’s CBS 17, who reported the news Tuesday as confirmed by Johnson’s former teammates. A cause of death is not yet known.
Pittsburgh drafted Johnson 17th overall in the 1994 NFL Draft. He spent five years with the team, catching 247 passes for 3400 yards and 15 touchdowns. His best season came in 1996, going over the 1000 yard mark for the first and only time of his career, ending the year with 1008 yards. He missed the team’s Super Bowl loss to Dallas due to injury.
Dave Bryan had just tweeted out a clip of him yesterday catching this 55-yard touchdown from Kordell Stewart against the Cincinnati Bengals in 1998. In a reply that now reads a bit more ominously, Stewart paid respects to his good friend and former teammate upon seeing that play again.
My dude my guy my friend CJ.
— Kordell Stewart (@KSlash10) July 18, 2022
Signing a five-year deal after the 1998 season, he played for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2000, New England Patriots in 2001, and Buffalo Bills in 2002. For his career, he caught 354 passes for 4606 yards and 24 touchdowns. He won a Super Bowl with the Pats in 2001.
Johnson broke into coaching later in life and at one point employed ex-Steelers Dewayne Washington and Willie Parker on his staff along with former Rams’ WR Torry Holt. Johnson was currently the assistant athletic director at Heritage High School, according to the CBS report.
Our thoughts are with the Johnson family.
