Leonard Johnson (born March 30, 1990) 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 ...

cornerbacks A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnov ...

who is currently a coaching assistant for the

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

. He was signed by the

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 ...

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 ...

in 2012. 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 ...

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. He has also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

, Buffalo Bills,

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

, and

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 ...

College career

Johnson attended

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

from 2008 to 2011. As a freshman in 2008, he set an NCAA record for most

kick return A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

yards in a game with 319. During his career he started 43 of 50 games, recording 247 tackles and six

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2012 season

On April 30, 2012, the

signed Johnson to a three-year, $1.44 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $5,000. Throughout training camp, Johnson competed for a roster spot as a backup cornerback against E. J. Biggers, Brandon McDonald,

Myron Lewis Myron Lewis (born November 24, 1987) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Lewis played college football at Vanderbilt University, where he garnered SEC hono ...

, and Anthony Gaitor. Head coach

Greg Schiano Gregory Edward Schiano (born June 1, 1966) is an American football coach. He is the head football coach at Rutgers University, a position he held from 2001 to 2011 and resumed before the 2020 season. Schiano served as the head coach for the Tampa ...

named Johnson the fifth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the regular season. He was listed behind

Aqib Talib Aqib Talib (born February 13, 1986) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at the University of Kansas, where he received consensus All-American honors, and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first ro ...

, Eric Wright, Brandon McDonald, and E. J. Biggers. During his rookie campaign he showed great promise when he finished the year with 41 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 3 interceptions.

2013 season

In his sophomore campaign he improved his tackle stats to 62 tackles but only recorded 1 forced fumble and 1 interception.

2014 season

During his 3rd season he saw transition into a new Tampa 2 system installed by new head coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Leslie Fraizer. He was used more in rotation as opposed to a full-time starter and finished his 2014 season with 45 total tackles, 3 forced fumbles, and 1 interception. Johnson was released from the Buccaneers on September 1, 2015, after breaking his leg early in the preseason.

2015 season

On March 10, 2015, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers re-signed Johnson to a one-year deal. On September 1, 2015, Johnson was waived by the Buccaneers. On September 2, 2015, the Buccaneers placed Johnson on season-ending injured reserve. On December 3, 2015, Johnson was waived from the Buccaneers' injured reserve.

New England Patriots

On December 9, 2015, Johnson was signed by the

. He made his Patriots debut the following week in a 27-6 win over the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

and recorded two passes defensed. On February 17, 2016, Johnson was released by the Patriots.

Carolina Panthers

On July 14, 2016, Johnson signed with the

. After starting the season on the reserve/non-football injury list after suffering an Achilles injury in March, Johnson was activated to the active roster on October 28, 2016.

Buffalo Bills

On March 17, 2017, Johnson signed with the

. He played in 15 games with seven starts, recording 52 tackles and seven passes defensed.

New York Giants

On August 3, 2018, Johnson signed with the

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Arizona Cardinals

On November 14, 2018, Johnson was signed by the

. He played in six games with one start before being released on December 28, 2018.

References

External links

Iowa State Cyclones bio

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Leonard 1990 births Living people American football cornerbacks American football return specialists Arizona Cardinals players Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players Iowa State Cyclones football players New England Patriots players New York Giants players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Buffalo Bills coaches