Darryl Johnson Jr. (born April 4, 1997) is 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 ...

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 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 North Carolina A&T.

Early life

Johnson grew up in

Kingsland, Georgia Kingsland is a city in Camden County, Georgia, Camden County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 18,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 15,946 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of th ...

. He committed to play

at North Carolina A&T, which was the only school that gave him an offer following an injury during his high school senior year. In his final year with the Aggies, he racked up 55 total

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 ...

(19 for a loss) and 10.5 sacks, earning the

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

defensive player of the year award. Johnson declared for the

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

following his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

junior year.

Professional career

Buffalo Bills

Johnson was selected by 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 ...

with the 225th overall pick in the seventh round of the

2019 NFL draft The 2019 NFL draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville. The first round was held ...

Carolina Panthers

On August 30, 2021, the Bills traded Johnson to 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 ...

for a 2022 sixth round pick. 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 October 30, 2021 with a hamstring injury. He was activated on December 7. On August 30, 2022, Johnson was waived by the Panthers.

Seattle Seahawks

On August 31, 2022, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. He suffered a foot injury in Week 4 and placed on injured reserve on October 7.

San Francisco 49ers

On June 6, 2023, Johnson signed with the

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 ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on August 4, 2023. He was released on August 16.

Arlington Renegades

On July 29, 2024, Johnson signed with the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The Renegades compete in the United Football League (UFL) as a member of the XFL Conference. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMah ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He was released on March 19, 2025.

References

External links

North Carolina A&T Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Darryl 1997 births Living people American football defensive ends Carolina Panthers players North Carolina A&T Aggies football players People from Kingsland, Georgia Players of American football from Camden County, Georgia San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players Buffalo Bills players Arlington Renegades players