Bryant Andrew Johnson (born March 7, 1981) is a former

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 wi ...

wide receiver who played in 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 was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals 17th overall in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. T ...

and also played for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, Detroit Lions, and Houston Texans. He played college football at Penn State.

Early years

Johnson attended Baltimore City College high school, excelling at football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and track. He was selected first-team all-state and the 1998 Baltimore Touchdown Club’s offensive player-of-the-year from the Knight's football team, Johnson also anchored a winning relay team at the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

for the school's track team.

College career

Johnson was a star wide receiver for Penn State, starting his final two years. He was the sixth player in PSU history to catch more than 100 career passes, and finished second all-time with 2,008 career receiving yards. Johnson earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

from Penn State University in 2005.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Johnson played three years predominantly as the Cardinals' third option receiver, playing mainly out of the slot receiver role, due to Anquan Boldin and

Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is a former American football wide receiver. Fitzgerald played in the National Football League for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at University of Pittsburg ...

being higher on the depth chart. His 35 catches in 2003 was the third most receptions for 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 and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

(his teammate Anquan Boldin had the most receptions for a rookie that year). In his 5-year career with the Cardinals he caught 210 passes for 2675 yards and 9 touchdowns. Johnson scored the inaugural

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

University of Phoenix Stadium A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, a 5-yard reception from

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend f ...

in the Arizona Cardinals preseason game on August 12, 2006.

San Francisco 49ers

Johnson signed a one-year deal with the

on March 14, 2008. He had 45 receptions for 546 yards and three touchdowns the 2008 season, his fifth straight season with 40 or more receptions. In his tenure with the 49ers, he changed his jersey number from 80 to 82 in respect of retired 49ers WR

Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. Known primarily as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, winning three championsh ...

, whose jersey number 80 was retired in his honor.

Detroit Lions

On February 28, 2009 Johnson signed a 3-year $9 million deal with the Detroit Lions. He was released on July 28, 2011.

Houston Texans

Johnson signed with the Houston Texans on August 29, 2011. He re-signed with the Texans on July 26, 2012. On August 27, he was released by the team.Gaither, Mondek among Texans' cuts
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NFL career statistics

References

External links

ESPN profileDetroit Lions bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Bryant 1981 births Living people American football wide receivers Houston Texans players Arizona Cardinals players San Francisco 49ers players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Baltimore Penn State Nittany Lions football players Baltimore City College alumni