According to Michael Peterson of SB Nation on Monday, safety John Johnson III of Hyattsville, Maryland is returning to the Los Angeles Rams on a one-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. The 27-year-old initially played four seasons with the Rams from 2017 to 2020 before playing the last two seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
In 17 games for the Browns in 2022, Johnson III played 17 games. He had 101 combined tackles (70 solo tackles and 31 assisted tackles), four tackles for a loss, two quarterback hits, one interception, four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and half a sack. The half a sack, interception, and forced fumbles came in Browns wins. The half a sack came in a 26-24 Browns win over the Carolina Panthers on September 11. The forced fumbles came in a 29-17 Browns win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 22 and in a 13-3 Browns win over the Baltimore Ravens on December 17. The interception came in a 27-14 Browns win over the Houston Texans on December 4.
Johnson III was the Rams’s third round pick, 91st overall in the 2017 NFL Draft out of Boston College. In 54 games with the Rams, he had 350 combined tackles (235 solo tackles and 115 assisted tackles), eight tackles for a loss, two quarterback hits, eight interceptions for 115 yards, 32 pass deflections and one forced fumble. The quarterback hits and forced fumble for Johnson III both came in the 2018 National Football League regular season. The forced fumble came on September 23, 2018 in a 35-23 Rams win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The first quarterback hit came on October 7, 2018 in a 33-31 Rams win over the Seattle Seahawks, and the second quarterback hit came on October 14, 2018 in a 23-20 Rams win over the Denver Broncos.
