Dirk Johnson (born June 1, 1975) 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 punter 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 is most notable for his four-season tenure with 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 ...

. After playing

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 ...

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

, Johnson signed with 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent in 1998. Johnson was also a member of the

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

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

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 ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. He now is an assistant coach for Montrose High School in

Montrose, Colorado Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The m ...

College career

Johnson played

as a punter and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

. While there he was a three-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection (as a punter in 1995, as a defensive back and punter in 1996 and as a defensive back in 1997). He helped lead the UNC Bears to two NCAA Division II national championships (1996 and 1997). Johnson finished his college career ranked 2nd on the school's all-time list with a 40.8-yard career punting average. He was first-team All-

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

in 1997 and at punter in 1995 and 1996.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Johnson was signed as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

free agent by the

on April 28, 1998. He was released on August 25, 1998.

New York Jets

Johnson signed with the

on April 7, 1999. He was released on August 21, 1999.

San Diego Chargers

The

signed Johnson on May 4, 2001. They released him on August 27, 2001.

New Orleans Saints

In 2002, Johnson played one game with the

. In the spring of that same year he played with their

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

team, the

Rhein Fire Rhein Fire may refer to either of two American football franchises: * Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) The Rhein Fire were a professional football team in the NFL Europe, formerly the World League of American Football. Established in Düsseldorf, Germany ...

, and appeared in the

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football, later called NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The first World Bowl was played ...

Philadelphia Eagles

In 2003, Johnson was picked up by the

as a free agent, beating out

Kyle Richardson Kyle Davis Richardson (born March 2, 1973) is a former National Football League (NFL) punter. He played college football at Arkansas State University and went on to have a ten-year professional career. He played for the Rhein Fire in NFL Eur ...

and Lee Johnson to win the starting punter job. Johnson played in all sixteen games during each of his first two seasons in Philadelphia. The team would go to back-to-back NFC Championship games, with an appearance in

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NF ...

. Following their Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, Johnson underwent sports hernia surgery during training camp. He returned in time to start the 2005 season, but aggravated the injury and missed the second half of the season, in what was an overall injury-plagued, down year for the defending NFC Champion Eagles.

Reggie Hodges Reginald Aaron Hodges (born January 26, 1982) is an American former professional football punter. He was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football at Ball State. Hodges was also a member ...

was signed to replace Johnson for the remainder of the season. Entering the offseason as a free agent, Johnson re-signed with the Eagles to a one-year contract. Prior to the start of the 2006 season, Johnson signed a new five-year extension, as he was given additional duties of placekick holder for

David Akers David Roy Akers (; born December 9, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Wa ...

. Though he played all sixteen regular season and both playoff games for the Eagles that season, the team brought in

Saverio Rocca Saverio Giovanni Rocca (born 20 November 1973) is an Australian former professional sportsman. He played Australian rules football for Collingwood and the Kangaroos in the Australian Football League (AFL), and then switched to playing American ...

to compete with Johnson in training camp and through the 2007 preseason. Johnson was released on the final day of cuts. At the time of his release, Johnson was the Eagles all-time leader in net yards per punt (which has been a recorded stat since 1976).

Chicago Bears

The

signed Johnson on September 16, 2007, to temporarily replace veteran punter

Brad Maynard Bradley Alan Maynard (born February 9, 1974) is an American former professional football punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ball State Cardinals, twice earning consensus All-American honors. Maynard ...

, who sustained a minor injury in the previous week. After 4 punts with a 49.8 yard average and 60 yard long punt, Johnson also sustained an injury, and was replaced by

place kicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist. The term derives fro ...

Robbie Gould Robert Paul Gould III ( ; born December 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bears, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers. He p ...

. On September 24, 2007, the Bears released him.

Arizona Cardinals

Johnson was signed by the

on March 5, 2008. He appeared in 12 games for the Cardinals that season, punting 40 times for a 41.8-yard average. The Cardinals released him on December 1 in favor of Ben Graham, this became the second time Johnson has been cut in favor of an Australian punter.

Washington Redskins

Johnson was signed by the

on March 5, 2009, to compete with Zac Atterberry for the team's punting job. However, he was released on April 23, 2009, after the team signed Hunter Smith.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Johnson was signed by the

on May 1, 2009. He was released on June 12, 2009.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Johnson was signed by the

on August 13, 2009, after a hip injury to Josh Bidwell. Johnson 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 30, 2009, due to a hamstring injury. He was released on March 4, 2010.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bio

Pittsburgh Steelers bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dirk 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Kansas People from Hoxie, Kansas American football safeties American football punters Northern Colorado Bears football players Seattle Seahawks players New Orleans Saints players Rhein Fire players Philadelphia Eagles players Chicago Bears players Arizona Cardinals players Washington Redskins players Pittsburgh Steelers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players People from Montrose, Colorado