Ty Johnson (American football)

Ty Johnson
refer to caption
Johnson in 2019
No. 26 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Running back
Personal information
Born: (1997-09-17) September 17, 1997 (age 27)
Cumberland, Maryland, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:Fort Hill (Cumberland, Maryland)
College:Maryland (2015–2018)
NFL draft:2019 / round: 6 / pick: 186
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2024
Rushing yards:1,133
Rushing average:4.5
Rushing touchdowns:5
Receptions:98
Receiving yards:795
Receiving touchdowns:6
Return yards:441
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Ty Marquise Johnson (born September 17, 1997) is an American professional football running back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Maryland.

Early life

Johnson grew up in Cumberland, Maryland, and is a member of the graduating class of 2015 at Fort Hill High School. Johnson was a multi-year starter at both running back and defensive back for the high school football team. In his junior and senior seasons at Fort Hill in 2013 and 2014, Johnson lead the Sentinels to back to back Maryland 1A State Football Championships. After both seasons, Johnson was named Area High School Football Player of the Year by the Cumberland Times-News, and in 2014 was named to the Maryland High School Consensus All-State team by the Maryland High School Football Foundation.[1][2] Johnson was responsible for nearly 5,000 all-purpose yards and 65 touchdowns during his two full varsity seasons.[3]

College career

Johnson was rated as a three-star college prospect, the 20th best recruit in the state of Maryland, and the 64th best running back prospect in the country by Rivals.[4] Johnson verbally committed to the Maryland Terrapins briefly after being offered a scholarship in June 2014 by then-head coach Randy Edsall at a football camp at Maryland Stadium. Johnson officially signed his letter of intent to attend Maryland in February 2015.[3] While Johnson was recruited by other programs, he did not receive a scholarship offer from a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program other than the Terrapins.[4]

In four seasons with the Terrapins, Johnson tallied 4,196 all-purpose yards, third in program history. In his sophomore season in 2016, Johnson set the Terrapins’ single season yards per carry record, averaging 9.1 yards per rushing attempt. Johnson also starred as a kick returner, finishing his collegiate career with 1,194 kick return yards and two return touchdowns, one going for 100 yards against Ohio State in 2017, and another going for 98 yards against Michigan in 2018.[5] Johnson graduated from Maryland in December 2018.[1]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 10+3⁄4 in
(1.80 m) 		210 lb
(95 kg) 		30+1⁄8 in
(0.77 m) 		9+1⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.40 s 1.56 s 2.51 s 34.5 in
(0.88 m)		 10 ft 3 in
(3.12 m)		 27 reps
All values from Pro Day[6][7]

Johnson did not receive an invitation to the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine. However, at Maryland's football pro day, scouts from 29 NFL teams, plus scouts from two Arena Football League teams, one team each from the Austrian Football League, German Football League and one Canadian Football League team were present to observe the workouts of 15 Maryland players, including Johnson. Johnson impressed scouts by running a 40-yard dash time clocked by most scouts as anywhere between 4.3 and 4.4 seconds, with one scout reportedly timing Johnson as fast as 4.26 seconds.[8] For comparison, the fastest 40-yard dash time ran by any running back at the 2019 NFL Scouting Combine was 4.40 seconds by Justice Hill of the Oklahoma State Cowboys.[9] At his pro day workout, Johnson was also able to do 27 repetitions of the bench press at 225 pounds, which would have ranked the highest among 2019 Combine running backs,[10] and was recorded jumping a 34-inch vertical.[8]

Detroit Lions

Johnson was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round (186th overall) of the 2019 NFL draft.[11] Johnson made his NFL debut in the Lions' regular season opener against the Arizona Cardinals and had a six-yard carry in the 27–27 tie.[12] Johnson made his first career start in Week 10 against the Chicago Bears and had five carries for 16 rushing yards.[13] Overall, in his rookie season, Johnson had 63 carries for 273 rushing yards and 24 receptions for 109 receiving yards.[14]

On October 1, 2020, Johnson was waived by the Lions.[15]

New York Jets

On October 2, 2020, Johnson was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets.[16]

In Week 13 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Johnson rushed 22 times for 104 yards and a touchdown during the 31–28 loss.[17] Two weeks later, the Jets secured their first win on the season against the Los Angeles Rams. Johnson rushed for 16 yards on three carries, added six receptions for 39 yards, and scored the Jets' first touchdown on an 18-yard completion from quarterback Sam Darnold.[18]

Johnson was re-signed on March 28, 2023.[19] Shortly thereafter, Johnson suffered a torn pec during an offseason workout.[20] He was released by the Jets with a non-football injury designation on April 26, 2023.[21]

Buffalo Bills

On August 21, 2023, Johnson signed with the Buffalo Bills.[22] He was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad.[23][24] He was promoted to the active roster on October 20, 2023.[25]

Johnson remained on the Bills active roster through the end of the 2023 regular season and into the postseason. He finished the regular season with 194 all-purpose yards and a receiving touchdown, which he scored in Week 11 against the New York Jets.[26] In the Bills' two postseason games following the 2023 season, including a victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round and a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round, Johnson rushed 15 times for 66 yards, which put him over 1,000 total rushing yards for his career.[27]

Johnson re-signed with the Bills on March 19, 2024.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b Burke, Mike (April 25, 2019). "Something so good, so true from the start". The Cumberland Times-News. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  2. ^ Shealer, Sheldon (December 30, 2014). "2014 All-State – Consensus". Maryland High School Football Foundation. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Maryland lands Johnson". The Cumberland Times-News. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Ty Johnson, 2015 Running Back - Rivals.com". n.rivals.com. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  5. ^ Johnson, Lamar (April 27, 2019). "Maryland RB Ty Johnson selected in 6th round of NFL Draft by Detroit Lions". Testudo Times. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "2019 Draft Scout Ty Johnson, Maryland NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  7. ^ "Ty Johnson 2019 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Lamar (March 27, 2019). "Highlights from Maryland football's pro day". Testudo Times. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  9. ^ White, R.J. (March 4, 2019). "2019 NFL combine: Top 40-yard dash times at each position as unheralded safety posts fastest run at Indy". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Daniels, Tim (March 1, 2019). "NFL Combine 2019 Results: Tracking 40 Times, Bench Press and All Drills". Bleacher Report. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  11. ^ Alter, Marlowe (April 27, 2019). "Detroit Lions add Maryland RB Ty Johnson with Round 6 of NFL draft". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  12. ^ "Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals - September 8th, 2019". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Rogers, Justin (November 11, 2019). "Wounded Detroit Lions suffer multiple injuries in loss to Chicago Bears". detroitnews.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "Ty Johnson 2019 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "Lions activate S Jayron Kearse". DetroitLions.com. October 1, 2020. Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  16. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (October 2, 2020). "Jets Claim RB Ty Johnson". NewYorkJets.com.
  17. ^ "Las Vegas Raiders at New York Jets - December 6th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  18. ^ "Jets vs. Rams - Game Summary". ESPN.com.
  19. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (March 28, 2023). "Jets Re-Sign RB Ty Johnson". NewYorkJets.com.
  20. ^ Maakaron, John (May 21, 2023). "Former Lions RB Experienced 'Dark, Dark Days'". Si.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Yates, Field (April 26, 2023). "The Jets have released RB Ty Johnson with a non-football injury designation". twitter.com.
  22. ^ White, Alec (August 21, 2023). "Bills sign OT Garrett McGhin, RB Ty Johnson". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  23. ^ White, Alec (August 29, 2023). "Bills announce moves to get to 53-man roster". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  24. ^ White, Alec (August 30, 2023). "Bills sign 14 players to 2023 practice squad". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  25. ^ Jenkins, Chris (October 20, 2023). "Bills promote RB Ty Johnson to the 53-man roster". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  26. ^ "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills - November 19th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  27. ^ "Ty Johnson 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  28. ^ Glab, Maddy (March 19, 2024). "Bills re-sign RB Ty Johnson to one-year deal". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 17, 2024.