Jon'Vea J'Qyay Johnson (born December 23, 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 ...

wide receiver who is a free agent. 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 ...

at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...

. Johnson has also been a member of the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

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 ...

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

, and

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

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 ...

, and was coached by his father in football. As a junior, he registered 47 receptions for 1,054 yards and 9

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 Ameri ...

s, receiving All-area honors. As a senior, he posted 73 receptions for 1,428 yards and 23

s, receiving All-state honors and was named one of the top 22 players in the state by Indiana Preps. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and was a two-time All-state sprinter, finishing third in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

at the 2013 state finals.

College career

Johnson accepted a football scholarship from the

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman, he appeared in 12 games (one start), making 10 receptions for 142 yards and one receiving

. As a sophomore, he started 11 out of 13 games opposite of future

NFL 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 major ...

wide receiver Cody Thompson. He recorded 40 receptions for 773 yards (third on the team), a 19.3-yard average and 10 receiving

s (tied for fifth in school history). He had 9 receptions, 182 yards (seventh in school history) and 3 receiving

s (tied for third in school history) against

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. As a junior, he started all 14 games opposite of future

player

Diontae Johnson Diontae Lamarcus Johnson (born July 5, 1996) is an American football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Toledo and was drafted by the Steelers in the third round of th ...

. He collected 42 receptions for 689 yards (second on the team), a 16.4-yard average and 5 receiving

s. He had 5 receptions for 102 yards and 2

s against the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

in the MAC Championship Game. As a senior, he was a backup behind first-team All-conference wide receivers Johnson and Thompson. He appeared in all 12 games (2 starts), registering 32 receptions for 660 yards (second on the team), a 20.6-yard average and 9 receiving

s. He had 6 receptions for 112 yards and 2

s against

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

. He finished his college career with 53 games (second in school history), 125 receptions, 2,265 yards (eighth in school history), a 18.1-yard average and 25 receiving

s (tied for second in school history).

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Johnson was signed by the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after 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 ...

on April 30. He was one of the team's early standouts during organized team activities, but struggled during preseason games. He was placed on the

injured reserve list 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 ...

with a shoulder injury on August 30. Johnson was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the Cowboys on July 26, 2020. He was activated on August 9, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 4, 2021. He was waived by the Cowboys on March 19, 2021.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On March 20, 2021, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived on June 19.

Chicago Bears

Johnson was signed by the

on July 27, 2021. He was waived on August 31, 2021, and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released on November 4.

Montreal Alouettes

On August 8, 2022, Johnson was signed by the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He spent the entire 2022 season on the practice roster and was released upon the completion of the Alouettes' season on November 14, 2022.

Memphis Showboats

On February 14, 2023, Johnson signed with the

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He was released on April 10.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

On May 5, 2023, Johnson signed with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of the

(CFL). On June 2, 2023, Johnson was released by the Tiger-Cats. He was signed to the practice squad a couple of weeks later on June 14, 2023. He was released on June 20, 2023.

Personal life

His father Jason Johnson played in the

as a wide receiver for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

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

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 ...

References

External links

Toledo Rockets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jon'Vea 1995 births Living people Players of American football from Gary, Indiana American football wide receivers Toledo Rockets football players Dallas Cowboys players Jacksonville Jaguars players Chicago Bears players Montreal Alouettes players Memphis Showboats (2022) players