Lonnie Johnson Jr. (born November 4, 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 with ...

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 tur ...

for the Tennessee Titans of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Early years

Johnson attended

West Side Leadership Academy West Side Leadership Academy is a four-year (9-12) public school of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana, United States. Notable alumni * Jason Johnson, former NFL player * Jon'Vea Johnson, NFL player * Lonnie Johnson Jr., N ...

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

. He originally committed to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

to play college football, but decommitted and went to San Bernardino Valley College. Johnson later transferred to Garden City Community College.

College career

Johnson attended San Bernardino Valley College in 2014 and played wide receiver and special teams. He attended Garden City in 2015 and 2016, but did not play in 2016 to concentrate on academics. He transferred to the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

in 2017. In two seasons at Kentucky, he had 64 tackles and one interception.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Johnson was drafted by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

in the second round, 54th 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 2 ...

. The Texans previously acquired the 54th overall pick from 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in a trade that sent

Duane Brown Duane Anthony Brown (born August 30, 1985) is an American football offensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the first round ...

to Seattle. On May 10, 2019, he signed his rookie contract. In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, Johnson recovered a blocked punt and returned it for a 25-yard touchdown during the 51–31 loss, but his ineffectiveness in covering Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, in part due to an injury sustained mid-game, was cited as one of the primary reasons for the Chiefs' historic comeback win.

Kansas City Chiefs

On May 2, 2022, Johnson was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2024 conditional seventh-round pick. He was waived on August 15, 2022.

Tennessee Titans

Johnson was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans on August 16, 2022. He was placed on injured reserve on November 17, 2022. He was activated from injured reserve a month later.

References

External links

Kentucky Wildcats bioGarden City CC bio
* 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Gary, Indiana American football safeties American football cornerbacks Garden City Broncbusters football players Kentucky Wildcats football players Houston Texans players Kansas City Chiefs players Tennessee Titans players {{Defensiveback-1990s-stub