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Josh Johnson continues his storied football career with the NY Jets

Justin Fried
Justin Fried

The Jet Press

NY Jets, Josh Johnson / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Johnson embodies the word "journeyman" in every conceivable way. The newest member of the NY Jets might not be more than a blip on the radar for most fans of the organization.

But the same is true for the inverse. The Jets are just the latest chapter in the storied career of the longtime NFL quarterback.

Johnson has spent time with 13 NFL franchises. This will be his 17th distinct stint with an NFL organization. He's played in various independent leagues ranging from the UFL to the AAF to the XFL.

At 35-years-old, Johnson is still hanging around the NFL despite the fact that he's appeared in just seven games since the 2012 season.

But he's still here. Josh Johnson's football journey continues — and his latest stop is Florham Park.

Josh Johnson's football career continues with the NY Jets.

A fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2009 NFL Draft, Johnson spent the first four years of his career down in Florida. He produced about as well as you could expect from a fifth-round pick.

Johnson started five games in Tampa, completed 55 percent of his passes, threw eight touchdowns to 14 interceptions, and failed to win a game. He was a backup who seemed destined to flame out before long.

Few could have predicted that Johnson would still be playing football a decade later, let alone still trudging along on an NFL roster.

Johnson's Wikipedia page reads more like a catalog than a short story. That is to say that Johnson's career needs its own table of contents.

Three stints with the San Francisco 49ers, two stints with the Cincinnati Bengals and NY Jets, and separate stints with the Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, NY Giants, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders, Washington, Detroit Lions, Sacramento Mountain Lions (UFL), San Diego Fleet (AAF), and Los Angeles Wildcats (XFL).

He's played for at least one team in every NFL division, half of the AFC, and three major independent football leagues. Josh Johnson is the epitome of a journeyman — and he wears that title like a badge of honor.

It's unclear what Johnson's role with the Jets will be. He could impress enough to earn the No. 2 quarterback job behind Zach Wilson coming out of the summer or he could be just another camp body released as part of final cuts.

Johnson might be little more than an afterthought for the Jets, just as the Jets would be yet another footnote in his incredible, interminable career.

But that's okay. Those "footnotes" have defined Johnson's career to this point — it's what has made his journey so special.

Johnson's recent pit stops — in Washington, the AAF, and the XFL — have proven that he thrives on being an afterthought.

Perhaps that motivation will allow his latest stint with the Jets to be more than just a one-month visit.

Justin Fried

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.