Dennis D. Johnson (born February 26, 1956) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

fullback and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, Un ...

and was selected in the third round of the

1978 NFL draft The 1978 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 2–3, 1978, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

The

selected him in the 3rd round (59th overall) of the

. He played in 16 games during their 1978 season and in the first three games of their 1979 season. On October 6, 1979, Johnson was placed on the injured reserve list with a knee injury for the remainder of the 1979 season. The Bills released him on September 3, 1980.

New York Giants

Johnson signed with the

as a

on December 3, 1980, and he played in the final two games of the 1980 season. He returned in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, but was placed on the injured reserve list with a knee problem on August 3, 1981, through the entire 1981 season.

Boston/New Orleans Breakers

On February 3, 1983, he signed with the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. During the Breakers' 1983 season, he rushed for 165 yards on 44 carries with one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

and had one

reception.Correal shocked by release
''Pittsburgh Press'', accessed April 1, 2012 He also scored on a two-point conversion. The Breakers cut him on January 28, 1984.Former Ag grinder signs with Breakers
''Deseret News'', accessed April 1, 2012

Pittsburgh Maulers

On June 7, 1984, Johnson signed with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dennis 1956 births Living people People from Choctaw County, Mississippi American football fullbacks Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Buffalo Bills players New York Giants players Boston/New Orleans/Portland Breakers players Pittsburgh Maulers players Players of American football from Mississippi