Well, it didn’t take long before John Johnson III found a new home.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Los Angeles Chargers are closing in on signing the veteran, who was recently cut by the Cleveland Browns.
The release becomes official this week.
The #Chargers are expected to pursue safety John Johnson III, who will be released by the #Browns this week, per source. That would reunite Johnson with Brandon Staley from their Rams days.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 13, 2023
Johnson signed a three-year, $33.75 million deal as a free agent in 2021, but he failed to live up to the expectations.
The team failed to find a trade suitor for him as he entered the final year of his career.
Of course, one could argue that he wasn’t used to the best of his strengths, and that change of scheme didn’t exactly bode well with him.
Over his two seasons, he managed to get 162 tackles in 32 starts, logging four interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumbles recoveries, and one sack.
He was heavily criticized and pointed out as one of the main factors behind the Browns’ somewhat shocking defensive regression last season.
And it’s evident that new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz wasn’t impressed by him, so he was another casualty just like former DC Joe Woods.
His overall stats weren’t bad individually, but his salary cap hit of $13.5 million was one the Browns simply couldn’t afford at this point in time, especially with several key free agents reportedly in their sights.
But as bad as Johnson may have seemed to some fans, it wasn’t long ago that he was one of the biggest names in the Los Angeles Rams’ secondary, so it’s not much of a surprise to see that the Chargers are willing to take a flier on him.
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