Wesley Vadnais Johnson (born January 9, 1991) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the

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 ...

in the fifth round of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. 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 Vanderbilt.

Professional career

Johnson was one of 50 collegiate offensive linemen to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He impressed scouts after completing all of the combine drills and finishing 11th out of all offensive tackles in the 40-yard dash. Johnson also tied for fifth among his position group in the vertical jump and finished 15th in the

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

. On March 21, 2014, Johnson chose to participate at Vanderbilt's pro day, along with Jonathan Krause, Jordan Matthews,

Kenny Ladler Kenneth Alfonzo Ladler Jr. (born June 23, 1992) is a former gridiron football safety. He played college football at Vanderbilt, and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills in 2014. He also played for the Edmonton Eskimos and ...

Andre Hal Andre Jeroy Hal Jr. (born May 30, 1992) is a former American football safety. He spent his 5-year NFL career with the Houston Texans who drafted him in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Vanderbilt. High sch ...

, and nine others. He opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills for team representatives and scouts, that included head coaches Chip Kelly (

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

) and Ken Whisenhunt ( Titans).

Pittsburgh Steelers

The

selected Johnson in fifth round (173rd overall) in the

. He was the seventh center selected 2014.

2014

On May 27, 2014, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Johnson to a four-year, $2.36 million contract 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 $144,560. Throughout training camp, he competed for a roster spot against David Snow,

Bryant Browning Bryant Browning (born June 26, 1988) is an American football guard who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football for Ohio State University. Early life Bryant ...

Chris Hubbard Christopher Hubbard (born April 23, 1991) is an American football guard and offensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at UAB. Early years Hubbard played high school football at ...

, Will Simmons, and Chris Elkins. Head coach Mike Tomlin named him the third-string left tackle and left guard behind Kelvin Beachum,

Ramon Foster Ramon Sentel Foster (born January 7, 1986), nicknamed "The Big Ragu", is a former American football guard who played 11 seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He is the brother of former Rams offensive lineman ...

, Mike Adams and Chris Hubbard to start the regular season. His versatility and experience playing all offensive line positions in college helped him earn the roster spot, as he also served as the third string center behind Maurkice Pouncey and Cody Wallace. On October 12, 2014, Johnson was waived by the Steelers.

New York Jets

Johnson was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

on October 13, 2014. Upon arrival, head coach Rex Ryan named Johnson the backup center behind Nick Mangold. Throughout his rookie season, Johnson did not appear in any games.

2015

He competed with

Dakota Dozier Dakota Duran Dozier (born April 30, 1991) is an American football guard who is a free agent. He was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Furman, where he was recognized as a unan ...

and

Dalton Freeman Dalton Freeman (born June 18, 1990) is an American football center who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He played college football at Clemson. A native of Pelion, South Carolina ...

for the backup center job throughout training camp. On September 5, 2015, Johnson was waived by the

and re-signed to the practice squad. New head coach

Todd Bowles Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the New York Jets. He ...

named guard Dakota Dozier the backup center to Nick Mangold. On October 28, 2015, the New York Jets signed him to the active roster after it was apparent starting center Nick Mangold would miss the next game after suffering a neck injury. On November 1, 2015, Johnson earned his first career start and made his official regular season debut in the

loss at the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. He finished the 2015 season appearing in ten games and one start.

2016

Johnson competed with

Kyle Friend Kyle Allen Friend (born April 3, 1994) is a former American football center. He played college football at Temple and signed with the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2016. Early years Friend attended Cumberland Valley High School wh ...

for the backup center role throughout training camp. He maintained the role and was named the backup center to Mangold to start the season. In Week 8, Johnson made his first start of the season during a 31-28 victory at the Cleveland Browns. He remained the starting center for the last eight games of the season after Nick Mangold was unable to play due to a recurring ankle injury. Mangold suffered an ankle injury in Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens and was placed on injured reserve for the remainder of the season.

2017

Johnson was slated to be the starting center after the New York Jets released Nick Mangold on February 25, 2017, after having a successful run while replacing him while he was injured during the 2016 season. On March 9, 2017, the Jets placed a second-round tender on Johnson and signed him to a one-year, $2.74 million contract. Head coach Todd Bowles named Johnson the starting center ahead of

Jonotthan Harrison Jonotthan Harrison (born August 25, 1991) is an American football Center (gridiron football), center who is a free agent. He played college football at Florida Gators football, Florida. He was not selected during the 2014 NFL Draft, but signed w ...

. He started the New York Jets' season-opening 21-12 loss at 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. ...

Detroit Lions

On March 29, 2018, Johnson signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Miami Dolphins

On October 2, 2018, Johnson signed with the Miami Dolphins following an injury to Daniel Kilgore.

San Francisco 49er

On May 7, 2019, Johnson a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019.

References

External links

Vanderbilt Commodores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Wesley 1991 births Living people American football centers American football offensive guards American football offensive tackles Detroit Lions players Miami Dolphins players New York Jets players Pittsburgh Steelers players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Nashville, Tennessee Vanderbilt Commodores football players