Darrius Dashone Johnson (September 17, 1973 – February 25, 2021) was an American 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

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for 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 ...

and

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 ...

of 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). The Broncos selected Johnson out of

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in the fourth round of the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 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 NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

. Johnson played in 61 games for the Broncos from 1996 to 1999, during which he had 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, both in 1998. One of his biggest games was a 1999 playoff game against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, where Johnson had a 44-yard

return and caused a

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

which was returned for a

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 ...

.Davis, Broncos Rout Miami
CBS News (2009-02-11). Retrieved on 2012-03-20. Johnson was a member of the Broncos'

Super Bowl XXXII Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXI champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide t ...

and

XXXIII 33 (thirty-three) is the natural number following 32 and preceding 34. In mathematics 33 is the 21st composite number, and 8th distinct semiprime (third of the form 3 \times q where q is a higher prime). It is one of two numbers to have an aliq ...

championship squads. Johnson played briefly for the

in 2003. Franciose Johnson wife of Darrius Johnson reported he died of sudden heart failure on February 25, 2021, and after extensive examination of the brain it was determined that Darrius Johnson died with Stage 3 CTE.

References

External links

* 1973 births 2021 deaths People from Terrell, Texas Players of American football from Kaufman County, Texas American football cornerbacks Oklahoma Sooners football players Denver Broncos players Track and field athletes from Oklahoma Kansas City Chiefs players Place of death missing 20th-century American sportsmen {{defensiveback-1970s-stub