Steven Mickail Johnson Jr. (born March 28, 1988) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He signed with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2012 where he spent three seasons before signing with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

in 2015. 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 ...

at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. He has also been a member of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

Arizona Hotshots The Arizona Hotshots were a professional American football franchise based in Tempe, Arizona, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played their ...

, and

Seattle Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL (2020), XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seat ...

Early life

Johnson attended

Strath Haven High School Strath Haven High School (also abbreviated as SHHS) is a four-year public high school in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, Wallingford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, enrolling about 1,200 students. SHHS is the only high s ...

in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, where he played linebacker; however, he struggled to impress coaches the way some of his teammates did. After one year on the freshman team and two years of

junior varsity A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At High school, ...

, he became a starter for his varsity team during his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year. That year, he led the state of Pennsylvania with 114

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

and being selected for All-state second team. Despite his successful senior year, he did not receive an offer to play collegiate football at any level. Without any collegiate offers, Johnson enrolled at Wyoming Seminary in 2006 to continue his education and play football. After only five games, he recorded 62 tackles, two

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s, and four rushing

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 ...

s. His performance began to earn the attention of college scouts until he tore his ACL, LCL, and capsule in his left knee. His football career appeared to be over. After a long period of recovery, Johnson started contacting colleges about playing football. He only received an invitation to walk-on at the

, after contacting several colleges.

College career

Johnson played

at the

after walking on to the team. He did not receive a scholarship until just before his junior season when he impressed coaches at practice. Johnson recorded nine tackles and a sack during his sophomore season, and one tackle during his freshman season. In his junior season, Johnson had 95 tackles, two sacks and three pass deflections. On September 4, 2010, In the season opener, he recorded nine tackles against North Dakota State. On September 25, 2010, he recorded eight tackles and a sack in a game against

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

. In his senior season, Johnson had 120 tackles, three pass deflections, two forced fumbles and an interception. In 2011, he was selected to the

Phil Steele Phil Steele (c. 1960) is an American sportswriter and analyst who focuses exclusively on college and professional football. He is considered a "highly respected prognosticator" within the sports media. His company, Phil Steele Publications, pro ...

's Midseason All-Big 12 Third Team. On September 3, 2011, in the season opener, he recorded 15 tackles and a forced fumble against McNeese State. On September 17, 2011, he had 11 tackles in a loss to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. On October 15, 2011, he recorded 13 tackles, an interception and two pass deflections against the #3 ranked

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

. Johnson finished college with 225 tackles, three sacks, six pass deflections, two forced fumbles and an interception. In January 2012, he played in the

2012 East–West Shrine Game The 2012 East–West Shrine Game was the 87th staging of the All-star game, all-star college football exhibition game featuring NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision players and a few select invitees from CIS football, Canadian university foo ...

Professional career

Denver Broncos

On April 29, 2012, Johnson signed with the

as an

. On August 31, 2012, he made the 53-man roster. He played three seasons with the Broncos, starting in seven games for the team. During the 2013 season, in a game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

, Johnson blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown. In Week 11 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, he came in for a defensive play where he stopped

Jamaal Charles Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles (born December 27, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college footb ...

at the goal line and denied him a touchdown on third down. On September 5, 2015, Johnson was released by the Broncos.

Tennessee Titans

Johnson was claimed off waivers by the

on September 6, 2015. He played in all 16 games, mostly on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

, with the Titans where he recorded seven tackles during the 2015 season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Johnson signed a one-year contract with the

on March 25, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Steelers as part of final roster cuts. The following day, the Steelers signed him to a one-year, $760,000 contract after Bud Dupree suffered an injury. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on November 15, 2016 after suffering an ankle injury in Week 10. On February 15, 2017, Johnson signed a one-year contract extension with the Steelers. On September 2, 2017, Johnson was released by the Steelers, but was re-signed two days later. He was released on September 9, 2017, but was re-signed three days later. He was released again on September 23, 2017.

Baltimore Ravens

On October 17, 2017, Johnson signed with the

Arizona Hotshots

On November 9, 2018, Johnson signed with the

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF) for the 2019 season. In the season opener against the Salt Lake Stallions, Johnson intercepted quarterback Matt Linehan in the second half. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Seattle Dragons

In October 2019, as part of the 2020 XFL Draft, Johnson was selected by the

. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Personal life

In 2014, Johnson started the Faith Motivated Foundation to help kids and adults to set and achieve goals, take care of their health and rely on their faith.

References

External links

Steven Johnson's Official Website

The Faith Motivated Foundation

Denver Broncos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Steven 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Media, Pennsylvania American football linebackers Kansas Jayhawks football players Denver Broncos players Tennessee Titans players Pittsburgh Steelers players Baltimore Ravens players Players of American football from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Arizona Hotshots players Seattle Dragons players