Isaiah Johnson (born December 20, 1995) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

for the

DC Defenders The DC Defenders are a professional American football team based in Washington, D.C. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL owned by Dwayne Johnson’s Alpha Acquico. Th ...

of the XFL. He played college football at

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

Early years

Johnson attended James Earl Rudder High School in

Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of College S ...

. He committed to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

to play college football.

College career

Johnson played at Houston from 2014 to 2018. He spent his first two years as a wide receiver before switching to cornerback prior to his junior year in 2017. During his two years as a receiver, he had 21 receptions for 208 yards. In his two years as a cornerback, he had 115 tackles and four

interceptions In ball-playing 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 a player of the same team ...

Professional career

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

Johnson was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

in the fourth round (129th overall) 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. The first round was held on April ...

. He was placed on injured reserve on September 2, 2019. He was designated for return and began practicing again on October 14. He was activated on November 4. On November 8, 2020, Johnson forced two incomplete passes on the last two plays of the game to seal the team's 31–26 win over the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

. In Week 10 against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

, Johnson was ejected from the game after punching Broncos' wide receiver Tim Patrick after Patrick punched Johnson's teammate

Johnathan Abram Johnathan Jauquez Abram (born October 25, 1996) is an American football free safety for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State and Georgia and went to high school at East Marion ...

. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

list by the team on November 18, and activated three days later. He was placed back on the COVID-19 list on December 19, 2020, and activated on December 23. On August 31, 2021, Johnson was waived by the Raiders.

Dallas Cowboys

On October 5, 2021, Johnson was signed to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

practice squad. He was released on October 19.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 14, 2021, Johnson was signed to the

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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

practice squad. He was released on December 20.

Arizona Cardinals

On December 29, 2021, Johnson was signed to the

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, an ...

practice squad. He was released on January 4, 2022.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

On January 19, 2022, Johnson signed a reserve/future contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was waived/injured on May 10, 2022, and placed on injured reserve. He was released with an injury settlement on June 10, 2022.

DC Defenders

On April 5, 2023, Johnson signed with the

of the XFL. He was placed on the team's reserve list on April 25, and activated on May 16.

References

External links

Houston Cougars bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Isaiah 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Bryan, Texas Players of American football from Texas American football cornerbacks American football wide receivers Houston Cougars football players Oakland Raiders players Las Vegas Raiders players Dallas Cowboys players Pittsburgh Steelers players Arizona Cardinals players DC Defenders players