Kevin L. Johnson (born July 15, 1976) 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

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 ...

for seven seasons 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 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 ...

for the

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

before playing in the NFL for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

, 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 ...

, the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

, and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. During his freshman year at Syracuse, Johnson lost a quarterback competition to

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college ...

which precipitated a position switch to wide receiver.

Professional career

Following his fourth season, Johnson was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 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 draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

. He caught a Hail Mary touchdown pass from

Tim Couch Timothy Scott Couch (born July 31, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He played college football for the ...

as time expired against the

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 ...

to give the new Cleveland Browns their first win following the team's return to the NFL. Johnson played for the Browns until 2003, when he was cut mid-season by

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Butch Davis Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant coll ...

after Johnson had many productive seasons as the Browns leading receiver. Johnson was subsequently claimed by 16 teams, and awarded to the Jaguars. The Jaguars later traded Johnson to the Ravens for a 4th round pick. The Ravens released Johnson after a single season. Johnson then signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions. In a controversial move, Johnson was issued Number 85, the first time the Lions had issued '85' to a player since the death of

Chuck Hughes Charles Frederick Hughes (March 2, 1943 – October 24, 1971) was an American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1967 to 1971 with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Detroit Lions. Early life Born on Mar ...

in 1971. Johnson would only appear in six games during what would be his final season in the NFL in 2005.

Post-NFL

Kevin Johnson spent years developing and constructing a massive multi-use complex in Bordentown, New Jersey, that includes a fitness center, health offices, as well as housing complex currently under construction. The complex is called Team 85 Campus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Kevin 1976 births Living people American football wide receivers Hamilton High School West alumni Sportspeople from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Syracuse Orange football players Cleveland Browns players Jacksonville Jaguars players Baltimore Ravens players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Trenton, New Jersey Players of American football from Mercer County, New Jersey