Eric Maxwell Johnson (born September 15, 1979) 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 ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

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 ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

High school and college career

Johnson was born in Needham, Massachusetts. He attended

Needham High School Needham High School is a public high school in Needham, Massachusetts, educating grades 9 through 12. Aaron Sicotte is the principal of Needham High School. Its three assistant principals are Alison Coubrough-Argentieri, Mary Kay Alessi, and Pie ...

and Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts. He went on to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he played wide receiver. He caught 21 receptions for 244 yards in

's come-from-behind victory against Harvard in the 1999 Harvard-Yale Game, including the game-winning touchdown catch.

Professional career

Johnson was drafted by the

in the seventh round of the 2001 NFL Draft. When healthy, he was a contributor to the 49ers passing game. However, he missed all of 2003 with an injury and missed all of 2005 with an injury as well. In 2004, he led the 49ers in receiving with 82 catches for 825 yards and two

touchdowns 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 ...

. During the 2006 season, Johnson split time with tight end

Vernon Davis Vernon Davis (born January 31, 1984) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Maryland, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers sixth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. In 2009, Davis co-led the NFL in touchdown rec ...

, the team's first-round draft pick."Eric Johnson"

Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. B ...

. Retrieved September 2, 2013. Johnson signed a one-year contract with 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in 2007. He was re-signed by the team on March 14, 2008. On July 31, 2008, the Saints released him.

Personal life

Johnson was married to stylist Keri Johnson whom he officially divorced in 2010. He began dating singer and actress Jessica Simpson in January 2010. They announced their engagement that November. The couple married on July 5, 2014 at the San Ysidro Ranch, in Montecito, Santa Barbara County, California. They have three children. A daughter named Maxwell Drew Johnson, son named Ace Knute Johnson and another daughter named Birdie Mae Johnson."Jessica Simpson welcomes new daughter"
''CNN''. March 20, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Eric 1979 births Living people American football tight ends American football wide receivers Belmont Hill School alumni Jessica Simpson New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from California Players of American football from Massachusetts Players of American football from San Francisco San Francisco 49ers players Sportspeople from Needham, Massachusetts Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Yale Bulldogs football players