Al Johnson (guard)
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| Position: | Center / guard | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | January 27, 1979 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Brussels, Wisconsin | ||||||||
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| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Southern Door (Brussels, WI) | ||||||||
| College: | Wisconsin | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 38 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2008 | |||||||||
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Al Joseph Johnson (born January 27, 1979, in Brussels, Wisconsin) is a former American football center in the National Football League. He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. Johnson also played for the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin.
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Early years
Johnson was two-way football player at Southern Door High School, earning second-team All-American and All-State honors. As a senior, he also won the state title in the shot put and was named conference player of the year in basketball.
He went on to play for the University of Wisconsin along with his cousin Ben Johnson. He was red-shirted and became a starter at center in the second game of his sophomore season, receiving honorable mention All-Big Ten honors two years in a row. As a senior he was named captain and received second team All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-American honors.
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
One of the focuses in Bill Parcells first season as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys was improving the center position play. To that end, he made Andre Gurode concentrate on playing guard and drafted Johnson in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft.[1]
From the beginning he was named the starter, but suffered a right knee injury in training camp that required microfracture surgery, which was thought to be career-threatening, because at the time not many players fully recovered from this medical procedure.[2]
After spending his rookie year on injured reserve, he played in every game and had 15 starts at center in his second season. In 2005, after facing competition in training camp, he went on to start all 16 games, but still split time with Gurode.
In 2006 he lost the starting center position to Gurode, who went on to become a Pro Bowler. At the end of the season, the Cowboys didn't re-sign him in free agency.
Arizona Cardinals
Although Johnson had lost his starting job, the Arizona Cardinals took a chance and signed him to a contract as a free agent. He started 14 games of the 2007 season (missing weeks 2 and 3 with a left knee injury). He was the starting center of an offensive line that allowed the team’s fewest sacks (24) in 20 years and that helped Edgerrin James rush for 1,222 yards.
In the 2008 off-season, he underwent two surgeries on his left knee and was placed on the injured reserve list. On October 21, he was released from injured reserve with an injury settlement, after the team couldn't reach an agreement to restructure his contract.[3]
Miami Dolphins
Johnson was signed by the Miami Dolphins on November 29, 2008, rejoining Bill Parcells who was the Executive Vice President of Football Operations. He played as a reserve center and guard in only four games, because he experienced recurring problems with his left knee.
New England Patriots
An unrestricted free agent after the 2008 season, he signed with the New England Patriots on March 16, 2009.[4] He was waived with an injury settlement on August 6, to make room for Derrick Burgess.[5]
Personal life
Johnson is and assistant football coach at St. Norbert College. He also was an assistant coach at Southern Door High School in Brussels and a morning show personality on WQDC, which he owned.
References
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/27/sports/pro-football-parcells-puts-his-brand-on-the-cowboys-draft.html
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External links
- NFL player using deprecated currentteam parameter
- NFL player with pastcoaching parameter
- NFL player with pastexecutive parameter
- Infobox NFL player with debut/final parameters
- Pages using infobox NFL player with dbf parameter
- 1979 births
- Living people
- People from Door County, Wisconsin
- Players of American football from Wisconsin
- American football centers
- American football offensive guards
- St. Norbert Green Knights football coaches
- Wisconsin Badgers football players
- Dallas Cowboys players
- Arizona Cardinals players
- Miami Dolphins players
- New England Patriots players
- High school football coaches in the United States
