Dirk Johnson (born June 1, 1975) 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 with ...

punter. He is most notable for his four season tenure with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. After playing

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 ...

Northern Colorado Northern Colorado is the name for a region in the state of Colorado and a proposed state in the northeastern portion of Colorado. Region Northern Colorado is a region in the northern portion of Colorado. It borders northwestern Colorado, nort ...

, Johnson signed with 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 ...

as an undrafted free agent in 1998. Johnson was also a member of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

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) West division, and play t ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

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 Steel ...

and

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. He now is an assistant coach for Montrose High School in

Montrose, Colorado Montrose is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,291 at the 2020 census, within a total area of 18.5 square miles. The main ...

College career

Johnson played

as a punter and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. While there he was a three-time

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n selection (as a punter in 1995, as a defensive back and punter in 1996 and as a defensive back in 1997). He helped lead the UNC Bears to two NCAA Division II national championships (1996 and 1997). Johnson finished his college career ranked 2nd on the school's all-time list with a 40.8-yard career punting average. He was first-team All-

North Central Conference The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II. History The NCC ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in 1997 and at punter in 1995 and 1996.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks

Johnson was signed as 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 ...

free agent by the

on April 28, 1998. He was released on August 25, 1998.

New York Jets

Johnson signed with the

on April 7, 1999. He was released on August 21, 1999.

San Diego Chargers

The

signed Johnson on May 4, 2001. They released him on August 27, 2001.

New Orleans Saints

In 2002, Johnson played one game with the

. In the spring of that same year he played with their

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

team, the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

, and appeared in the World Bowl.

Philadelphia Eagles

In 2003, Johnson was picked up by the

as a free agent, beating out

Kyle Richardson Kyle Davis Richardson (born March 2, 1973) is a former National Football League (NFL) punter. He played college football at Arkansas State University and went on to have a ten-year professional career. He played for the Rhein Fire in NFL Europ ...

and

Lee Johnson Lee Johnson may refer to: Sportspeople * Lee Johnson (wide receiver) (born 1944), American football wide receiver *Lee Johnson (punter) (born 1961), American football punter *Lee Johnson (basketball) (born 1957), American basketball player * Lee Jo ...

to win the starting punter job. Johnson played in all sixteen games during each of his first two seasons in Philadelphia. The team would go to back-to-back NFC Championship games, with an appearance in

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ( ...

. Following their Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, Johnson underwent sports hernia surgery during training camp. He returned in time to start the 2005 season, but aggravated the injury and missed the second half of the season, in what was an overall injury-plagued, down year for the defending NFC Champion Eagles.

Reggie Hodges Reginald Aaron "Reggie" Hodges (born January 26, 1982) is a former American football punter. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Ball State. Hodges has been a member of t ...

was signed to replace Johnson for the remainder of the season. Entering the offseason as a free agent, Johnson re-signed with the Eagles to a one year contract. Prior to the start of the 2006 season, Johnson signed a new five-year extension, as he was given additional duties of placekick holder for

David Akers David Roy Akers (; born December 9, 1974) is an American former football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He began his career in 1998 with the Washington Reds ...

. Though he played all sixteen regular season and both playoff games for the Eagles that season, the team brought in

Saverio Rocca Saverio Giovanni Rocca (born 20 November 1973) is a retired Australian professional sportsman. He played Australian rules football for Collingwood and North Melbourne in the Australian Football League, and then switched to playing American foo ...

to compete with Johnson in training camp and through the 2007 preseason. Johnson was released on the final day of cuts. At the time of his release, Johnson was the Eagles all-time leader in net yards per punt (which has been a recorded stat since 1976).

Chicago Bears

The

signed Johnson on September 16, 2007 to temporarily replace veteran punter

Brad Maynard Bradley Alan Maynard (born February 9, 1974) is a former American football Punter (football), punter. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft, and has also been a member of the Chicago Bears, Houston Texans, ...

, who sustained a minor injury in the previous week. After 4 punts with a 49.8 yard average and 60 yard long punt, Johnson also sustained an injury, and was replaced by

place kicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Speci ...

Robbie Gould Robert Paul Gould III (; born December 6, 1982) is an American football placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played with the Chicago Bears from 2005 to 2015, during which he became the franchise's all ...

. On September 24, 2007 the Bears released him.

Arizona Cardinals

Johnson was signed by the

on March 5, 2008. He appeared in 12 games for the Cardinals that season, punting 40 times for a 41.8-yard average. The Cardinals released him on December 1 in favor of Ben Graham, this became the second time Johnson has been cut in favor of an Australian punter.

Washington Redskins

Johnson was signed by the

on March 5, 2009 to compete with Zac Atterberry for the team's punting job. However, he was released on April 23, 2009 after the team signed

Hunter Smith Hunter Dwight Smith (born August 9, 1977) is a former American football punter. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. Smith earned a Super Bowl ring ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

Johnson was signed by the

on May 1, 2009. He was released on June 12, 2009.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Johnson was signed by the

on August 13, 2009 after a hip injury to

Josh Bidwell Joshua John Bidwell (born March 13, 1976) is a former American football punter who played twelve seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Oregon. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers i ...

. Johnson was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

on November 30, 2009 due to a hamstring injury. He was released on March 4, 2010.

References

External links

Arizona Cardinals bioPittsburgh Steelers bioTampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dirk 1975 births Living people Players of American football from Kansas People from Hoxie, Kansas American football safeties American football punters Northern Colorado Bears football players Seattle Seahawks players New Orleans Saints players Rhein Fire players Philadelphia Eagles players Chicago Bears players Arizona Cardinals players Washington Redskins players Pittsburgh Steelers players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players People from Montrose, Colorado