Damone Johnson (born March 2, 1962) 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 ...

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). He played seven seasons for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

Early life

Johnson graduated from

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to Samohi or SMHS, is a public high school in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Bo ...

and played collegiately at

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

, where he played four seasons and finished with 109 receptions for 1,632 yards and 10 touchdowns. He earned All- Western Football Conference selection in 1983. After his Cal Poly career in 1984, Johnson ranked second in school history for both receptions and receiving yards.

Professional career

After being selected by the

in the sixth round of the

1985 NFL draft The 1985 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The NFL draft, draft was held April 30 and May 1, 1985 NFL season, 1985, at the Omni Park Central Hotel in New York City, New ...

, Johnson spent his rookie season on injured reserve due to a knee injury suffered in training camp. In 1986, a shoulder injury kept him sidelined for most of the season before he was activated from injured reserve and played in the team's final five games, though he did not catch a pass. Johnson's first significant playing time came when he caught six passes for 69 yards (ultimately both single-game career highs) in the Rams' 30–17 loss to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Monday Night Football ''Monday Night Football'' (often abbreviated as ''MNF'') is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that air on Monday nights. It originally ran on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from 1970 NFL season, 1970 t ...

. Playing in 12 games and starting in five, Johnson became the Rams' leading pass catcher among tight ends with 21 receptions for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Becoming a full-time starter at tight end, Johnson's best season came in

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, when he caught 42 passes for 350 yards and scored six touchdowns, all single-season highs for his career. In the final game of the regular season that year, Johnson caught four passes for 42 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in a 38–16 win over the eventual Super Bowl champion

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. Johnson played four more seasons with the Rams, and at the end of his career, he held the record for most touchdown receptions by a tight end in team history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Damone 1962 births Living people Players of American football from Los Angeles American football tight ends Cal Poly Mustangs football players Los Angeles Rams players 20th-century American sportsmen