Joseph T. Johnson (born July 11, 1972) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

and the Green Bay Packers. In the 1994 NFL draft, he was selected by the Saints in the first round (13th overall). He was elected to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

after the 1998 season, missed the entire 1999 season with a severe knee injury that left his career in doubt, but came back in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

to once again be named to the Pro Bowl and also named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. In 2002 Green Bay picked him up in free agency and ESPN named him the biggest free agency bust in Green Bay's history. The Packers gave the former Saints defender a six-year, $33 million contract that included a $6.5 million signing bonus. What they got in return was two sacks in 11 games over two injury-filled seasons, before they cut him. He was a standout at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...

References

External links

*http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnJo04.htm 1972 births Living people Players of American football from Cleveland American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Louisville Cardinals football players New Orleans Saints players Green Bay Packers players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Missouri Ed Block Courage Award recipients {{ULouisville-stub