They say Father Time is undefeated. But QB Josh Johnson is killing him in the ring right now. At 37 years old, Johnson is back in the NFL, signing a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens Monday ahead of the team’s start of OTAs.
As Schefter’s tweet notes, it’s hardly his first stop with the team. He signed in 2016 and again in 2021. It’s been part of a long NFL journey that began in 2008 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has touched virtually every corner of the continental USA.
Per Johnson’s Wikipedia page, here’s all the rosters he’s been on since entering the NFL out of San Diego.
– Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2008–2011)
– San Francisco 49ers (2012)
– Sacramento Mountain Lions (2012)
– Cleveland Browns (2012)
– Cincinnati Bengals (2013)
– San Francisco 49ers (2014)
– Cincinnati Bengals (2015)
– New York Jets (2015)
– Indianapolis Colts (2015)
– Buffalo Bills (2015)
– Baltimore Ravens (2016)
– New York Giants (2016)
– Houston Texans (2017)
– Oakland Raiders (2018)
– Washington Redskins (2018)
– San Diego Fleet (2019)
– Detroit Lions (2019)
– Los Angeles Wildcats (2020)
– San Francisco 49ers (2020–2021)
– New York Jets (2021)
– Baltimore Ravens (2021)
– Denver Broncos (2022)
– San Francisco 49ers (2022)
– Baltimore Ravens (2023–present)
It’s a CVS-long list of teams to play for and includes a handful of stops with teams outside of the NFL. Johnson’s played for four professional leagues in the UFL, AAF, XFL, and the NFL. Football’s version of Nick Cannon, he’s now played for 17 different teams across his 15-year career. Only eight players from the 2008 draft class appeared in games last season and as of now, only four are on NFL rosters for 2023: OT Duane Brown, DE Calais Campbell, WR Matthew Slater, and Johnson.
Johnson has only started nine NFL games and thrown 355 passes. A plurality of that came in 2009 when he threw the ball 125 times with four touchdowns and eight interceptions. He still has more INTs (16) than touchdowns (13) but his veteran experience and mobility has allowed him to stick. It’s one reason why the Ravens signed him for their mobile-QB system. He could be the team’s #3 QB behind Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley.
In 2022, Johnson threw just two regular season passes but entered the NFC Championship game after Brock Purdy went down with a serious elbow injury. Johnson went 7-of-13 for 74 yards before exiting as well due to a concussion and is the true catalyst for the “Brock Purdy” rule that will create a path for an emergency quarterback on gameday rosters.
Against the Steelers, Johnson has completed all six of his passes for 67 yards, all coming in a 2010 loss. If Jackson gets hurt again, there’s a chance Johnson will have to test his spotless record against Pittsburgh.
