New Broncos quarterback Josh Johnson has an unique and valuable skill: He can learn an offense in a hurry and play at a competent level on extremely short notice better than anyone else in the sport.
Last December, he started for the Baltimore Ravens in place of an ill Tyler Huntley just 10 days after being plucked off of the New York Jets’ practice squad after Lamar Jackson was injured. Baltimore didn’t defeat the eventual AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals with Johnson thrust into the starting lineup, but Johnson acquitted himself well, posting a 98.3 passer rating on 28-of-40 passing for 304 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Three years earlier, he played for Washington just four days after being signed. He saw mop-up duty in place of an ineffective Mark Sanchez and posted a 104.9 passer rating on 11-of-16 passing for 195 yards, a touchdown and a pick. Seven days later, he posted a 93.9 rating as he led Washington to a 16-13 win at Jacksonville.
He won’t have to do that in Denver. Instead, he’ll get time to absorb what the Broncos do as he settles in to try and earn the No. 2 job behind Russell Wilson.
“Oh, man, you hit the nail right on the head,” Johnson said when his quick turnarounds were brought up during a Monday press conference over Zoom. “That’s my biggest appreciation — just knowing, coming into the offseason, that you’re going to get those real reps, you’re going to get that real time on task.
“Every time I’ve been in that situation, I’ve seen myself grow to levels that I didn’t even think I was capable of. So, I’m just itching to get that process going.”
Johnson always keeps himself ready, which is how he’s found himself acquired by 17 different teams over four leagues since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made him a fifth-round choice in 2008 out of the University of San Diego, where he played under then-head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“I have a lot of jerseys and helmets,” Johnson said, although he noted that the gives away his team-issued workout gear to “a younger kid, a relative or someone who tends to appreciate it.”
“I actually don’t count the teams, ironically,” Johnson added a moment later. For me, I’m so in the moment right now of just chasing my passion … When it’s all said and done, I’ll worry about how many teams it was and the whole back story. Right now, I’m just in the moment and really excited to be a Denver Bronco.”
Only once has Johnson spent consecutive regular seasons with the same team — from 2008-11, when he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His peripatetic march through the sport began when he joined the San Francisco 49ers the following offseason, but was released at the 53-man roster deadline before the 2012 regular season.
In 2021 alone, he was involved in 11 transactions with three teams — the 49ers, the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens. He was promoted and then returned to the New York Jets’ practice squad on three separate occasions before the Ravens claimed him for their 53-man roster last Dec. 16.
Johnson’s experience means that few know how to handle the job of understudy better than him.
“It’s two parts. Supporting the starter, for me, it comes naturally. When your teammates do well, and your team wins, we all win, and that’s what we’re in this building for — because everybody wants to win,” he said. “The other part is just yourself. Knowing that you’re one play away, and just finding numerous ways to just hold yourself to the standard of kind of tricking your mind. You’ve got to feel like every play, if I go in there, I’m ready to go.
Johnson said part of his preparation on the sideline during games involves constantly taking warm-up stretches on the sideline. On the cerebral side, he said that he analyzes defenses based on his mid-week film analysis to see how their game-day tactics mesh with what he studied.
“But when it comes to supporting your teammate, I feel like that’s natural, man,” Johnson said. “And then it’s really finding out what Russ needs from me. Once I find out what he needs from me, it’s figuring out that good mix that allows me to be my best self, and still works well with what he needs to be his best self.”
With the Broncos, he’ll get a clear shot from the start of the offseason to be the No. 2 quarterback — a chance he hasn’t had since 2017 with the New York Giants.
Perhaps that — plus his experience and the quality of his play in fill-in duty the past four years — will help him settle in for a lengthier stay in Denver than he has had anywhere else in the past decade.
“I don’t really like to make predictions, but I know that it will be different, and I just know that everybody knows reps is everything. You can do so much once you get those reps,” he said. “I think about that a lot more — and most people that don’t know, the fact that you (this reporter) brought it up, I feel like you hit the nail right on the head, and I’m anxious to see myself, being here every day, being a part of the action.
“Just to see how that plays out, I’m excited.”
