Charles Johnson (born July 10, 1986) 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 ...

player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for 11 seasons for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

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). 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 ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

and was selected by the Panthers in the third round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

Early life

Johnson attended Hawkinsville High School, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and track. He played

for the Hawkinsville Red Devils

team. As a junior, he earned Class A All-State honorable mention and All-Area honors. As a senior, he recorded 16 sacks and 30 pressures while leading his team to the Class A State Championship, where he returned an

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 ...

83 yards for a touchdown. He participated in the GACA North-South All-Star game. In addition to football, he also played basketball and ran track. He played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

on the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team. In

track & field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...

, he competed as a member of the Hawkinsville

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switc ...

squads, recording personal-best times of 43.27 seconds in the 4x100 and 3:42.47 minutes in the 4x400. He also ran a 4.6-second

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

Professional career

Johnson was considered by some NFL scouts to be a 1st or 2nd round pick and rated as high as the 3rd best defensive end in draft by some scouting services. He went later than expected to the

in the 3rd round with the 83rd overall pick in the

. This was considered to be a great steal by many experts. During Johnson's rookie year (2007), he appeared sparingly due to playing behind established veterans like

Julius Peppers Julius Frazier Peppers (born January 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, where he ...

and

Mike Rucker Michael Dean Rucker (born February 28, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Nebra ...

. Johnson appeared in all 16 games of the 2008 season. With Rucker retired, and a year of experience behind him; he showed great strides during the year totaling 25 tackles, 6 quarterback sacks, and forcing 1 fumble. The 2010 season was his first year as a starter with the departure of longtime starter Julius Peppers and was somewhat of a breakout year for Johnson. Through 16 games he recorded 11.5 sacks (tied for 8th in the NFL) with 62 total tackles, and 1 forced fumble. After the lockout was lifted, Johnson was resigned to a six-year $72M ($32M guaranteed) contract. According to ESPN the Magazine, he was the highest paid player in the NFL during the 2011 season with a total salary of $34M. Johnson recorded 9.0, 12.5, 11.0, and 8.5 over the 2011–2014 seasons, 11th in the NFL over that time period. He had two sacks in the Panthers' first 2014 playoff game against Arizona. On September 29, 2015, he was placed on injured reserve, and missed five games. However, he returned on November 24, 2015. On February 7, 2016, Johnson was part of the Panthers team that played in

Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. In the game, the Panthers fell to 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 ...

by a score of 24–10. He had five tackles and a sack in the losing effort, matching the one sack he had in both previous playoff games. His five career playoff sacks is a Panthers franchise record, and his three that year shares a single-postseason record with

Kony Ealy Kony Montoy Ealy (born December 21, 1991) is an American professional football defensive end. He played college football for the Missouri Tigers and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft. Early life Ea ...

. On March 3, 2016, Johnson was released, but on March 8, 2016,he signed a one-year deal with the Panthers worth $3 million. On March 7, 2017, Johnson signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension with the Panthers. On December 1, 2017, Johnson was suspended for four games due to violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. On February 26, 2018, Johnson was released by the Panthers. Johnson officially announced his retirement from the NFL on August 22, 2018. He spent his entire professional career with the Carolina Panthers.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Georgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Charles 1986 births Living people Players of American football from Macon, Georgia American football defensive ends Georgia Bulldogs football players Carolina Panthers players People from Hawkinsville, Georgia American sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in American football