Denver Broncos quarterback Josh Johnson would have a tough time keeping his resumé to a single page. Since entering the NFL in 2008, he’s played for 17 professional teams in four different leagues, including 14 teams in the NFL. (He lists most of those stops on his LinkedIn page.)
His career journey became a talking point Saturday during his current team’s preseason matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. The broadcast included a graphic showing all the teams he’s played for in the past 14 years.
Johnson, who is 36, earned the start in that game after putting in some strong performances in recent training camp practices.
“Being in my 14th year, I’m just thankful I get reps every day,” Johnson told Denver’s 9News.
He added that spending time with starting quarterback Russell Wilson, who didn’t play Saturday, has been “outstanding.”
“For sure he’s making me better,” Johnson said.
Johnson entered the league in 2008 after being drafted in the fifth round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After four years (his longest tenure with any NFL team) his long journey began. Last season, he played for both the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens and had a chance to start for each team.
“When both (Zach) Wilson and (Mike) White (of the Jets) went down with injuries, Johnson was pressed into taking over on the second drive of game eight against the Colts and threw for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns. It was the first 300-yard game of his career and first 3 TD pass game,” 9News reported.
Then, in December, the Ravens went through similar injury drama and asked Johnson to step in. “He started (for the Ravens) against the Bengals, throwing for 304 yards and two touchdowns,” 9News reported.
Johnson put in another strong performance Saturday in the preseason game. He “completed 16 of 23 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns while adding three yards on one carry in Saturday’s 17-7 win,” CBS reported.
The article noted that Johnson’s passer rating was 120.2, nearly double Brett Rypien’s 65.3. (Johnson and Rypien are competing for the Broncos’ backup job.)