Jaymar Johnson (born July 10, 1984) 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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He was selected by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

in the sixth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. 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 Jackson State. Johnson also played for 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. The ...

Early life

Johnson was born on July 10, 1984, in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

. As a kid, he won seven

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

trophies and his nickname was "Double-J". As a senior in high school he was named All-State, All-Area and All-Conference.

Shootings

As a teenager, Johnson left his aunt's home in Gary with his nephew (William M. Fields Jr.) and was caught in the

crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. ...

of a gun battle about 100 yards from his location. A few years later during a pickup basketball game, Johnson fled with his cousins and later discovered his

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had been grazed by a bullet.

College career

Johnson attended

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

and debuted for the Tigers against Alabama State and future teammate

Tarvaris Jackson Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson (April 21, 1983 – April 12, 2020) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Alabama State ...

. As a junior, he had a career-high 199 receiving yards against Southern. During his last three seasons at Jackson State, Johnson started in every game. He majored in

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at Jackson State.

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Johnson was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the

, through a pick acquired from trading

Troy Williamson '' Troy Williamson (born April 30, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings seventh overa ...

to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. He became the first Jackson State player to be drafted since Sylvester Morris in the

2000 NFL draft The 2000 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15– 16, 2000, at the Theat ...

. He was cut late during training camp but was re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 1, 2008. He spent most of the year on the practice squad. According to Vikings

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Brad Childress Brad Childress (born June 27, 1956) is a former American football coach. He worked for over 40 years as a coach for various college programs and National Football League (NFL) franchises. He was the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin from 1994 ...

, during the 2009 offseason, Johnson put on 17 pounds getting up to 187 and is currently the hardest worker on the team. During the 2010 preseason, Johnson was placed on the Injured Reserve list, having broken his left thumb in the Week 1 preseason game against the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

. The injury allowed the Vikings to re-register returning quarterback

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...

to their 53-man roster. On September 2, 2011, he was waived by Minnesota.

Arizona Cardinals

The

signed him to their practice squad on September 20. He was promoted to the active roster on November 29. Johnson was waived on December 23, 2011. Johnson was added to the

on December 28, 2011. He was waived on August 25, 2012.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Johnson signed with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

in April 2014. Johnson was released from the team on June 20, 2014.

Personal

His brother James played

Arkansas-Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a public historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or university in Arkansas. It was one of about 180 "normal schools" estab ...

. He is the youngest of eight children and enjoys playing the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

and planned on joining the medical field following his college career. His wife (Kassy Johnson) is a special education teacher at

Eden Prairie High School Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) is a four-year public high school in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States established in 1923. The present high school opened in 1981 and was significantly added to in 1990, 1994 and 1997. It was named a Blue R ...

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jaymar 1984 births Living people American football wide receivers Arizona Cardinals players Jackson State Tigers football players Minnesota Vikings players Players of American football from Gary, Indiana Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Canadian football wide receivers Players of Canadian football from Indiana