Jarret Webster Johnson (born August 14, 1981) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played 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 twelve seasons. He was drafted in the fourth round (109th overall) in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

and also played for the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

. 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 ...

for the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

Early years

Johnson grew up mostly in

Cedar Key, Florida Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th ...

and attended Chiefland High School where he was a second-team all-state defensive end and tackle as a junior. He also led his team to the State Title game.

College career

Johnson attended the

where he played defensive end for the Crimson Tide. He was the only 2-time captain in Alabama Crimson Tide history. As a senior, he was a First-team SEC pick and Second-team All-American, he finished second in University of Alabama history with 23 sacks. His 25 tackles for a loss tied Leroy Cook (1972–75) for second place on the school's career-record list behind Kindal Moorehead's record of 34 (1998–2002). He was a public relations major. When Johnson left Alabama, he ranked second in sacks and was tied for second in tackles for loss in school history. Only the late

Derrick Thomas Derrick Vincent Thomas (January 1, 1967 – February 8, 2000), nicknamed D.T., was an American football linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Considered one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, he p ...

had more sacks.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Baltimore Ravens

Johnson was selected in the fourth round (109th overall) of the

by the

. In his rookie season he played in 15 games and started one contest, recording 18 tackles in the process for

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. He started his first NFL game on November 30 versus 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 ...

. The following season, he played in 16 games posting 30 tackles. That season, he also recorded his first career interception which he returned for his first NFL touchdown versus the

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

on January 2. In 2005, he again saw action in all 16 games and this time he started 12 of them. He finished the season with 61 tackles and 1.5 sacks. In the 2006 season, his fourth with the team, he played in all 16 games starting two and finished the campaign with 35 tackles. On March 3, 2007, Johnson signed a 5-year $21.7 million deal with the Ravens that included $8.1 million in bonuses/guaranteed money. In 2007 Johnson started all 16 games for the first time in his career and finished the season with a career-high 94 tackles (59 solo), despite being slowed for much of the year with a broken thumb. The next season, 2008, he again started all 16 games for the finishing with 82 tackles (46 solo), a career-high 5 sacks, 4 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery as part of the NFL's second ranked defense. In 2009, Johnson was named in ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

s list of the ten most underrated players in the NFL. He made 50 tackles (36 solo), 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions in the

2009 NFL season The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season. The preseason started ...

. In 2010, Johnson surpassed

Peter Boulware Peter Nicholas Boulware (born December 18, 1974) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for Florida State University, and was re ...

's franchise record for consecutive starts (111), starting his 115th consecutive game in a divisional round match-up vs. the rival

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 2011, Johnson won NFL Defensive Player of the Week after recovering a fumble and returning it for a touchdown in a Sunday Night Football win against 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 ...

after

Haloti Ngata Etuini Haloti Ngata (; born January 21, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for the University of Oregon and earned consensus All-American honors. Ngata was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fi ...

sacked

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...

. He left Baltimore having played in a team-record 129-straight regular-season games, including 80 consecutive starts.

San Diego Chargers

On March 14, 2012, Johnson agreed to a four-year deal with the

. Johnson brought stability to the strong-side ’backer position for the Chargers, he also served as a valued mentor for fellow strong-side linebacker,

Melvin Ingram Melvin Ingram III (born April 26, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at South Carolina, and earned All-American honors. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the first round ...

, the Chargers’ top pick in the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

, and he finished his first season in San Diego with 47 tackles and 1.5 sacks. But more importantly, Johnson's consistency and effort helped the Bolts rank ninth in the NFL in total defense and sixth against the run. He was voted along with teammate

Malcom Floyd Malcom Maiuu Floyd (born September 8, 1981) is a former American professional football player who was a wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL). He played his entire NFL career with San Diego after sign ...

as the Chargers' Most Inspirational Player in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. Johnson announced his retirement on February 24, 2015.

Post-retirement

In 2017 Johnson joined the Ravens' radio broadcast crew, to serve as a color analyst for four regular-season games.

Personal life

Johnson married Anna Grimes on April 3, 2004. They reside in

Niceville, Florida Niceville is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States, located near Eglin Air Force Base on Boggy Bayou that opens into Choctawhatchee Bay. The population was 11,684 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census population for Niceville was 12,7 ...

, close to

Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...

. Johnson is an avid

outdoorsman Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activiti ...

who loves to boat, hunt and fish. He comes from a family with a long and trying legacy of men who made a living as commercial crabbers and fishermen. Beginning with his great-grandfather, all of the men in the Johnson family worked on the water, including his father, Ludwig, who was lost at sea two weeks before Jarret's eighth birthday.

References

External links

Baltimore Ravens Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jarret 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Florida Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football defensive ends American football outside linebackers Baltimore Ravens players San Diego Chargers players People from Homestead, Florida Sportspeople from Miami-Dade County, Florida National Football League announcers Baltimore Ravens announcers