Anthony Johnson Jr.
American football player (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthony Christopher Johnson Jr. (born December 2, 1999) is an American professional football safety for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa State Cyclones, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft.
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
| No. 26 – Chicago Bears | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Safety | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | December 2, 1999 St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | St. Petersburg | ||||||||
| College | Iowa State (2018–2022) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2023: 7th round, 242nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2026 | |||||||||
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Early life
Johnson Jr. grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida and attended St. Petersburg High School.[1] He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Iowa State over an offer from South Florida.[2]
College career
Johnson played cornerback for his first four seasons with the Iowa State Cyclones and became a starter during his freshman year.[3] As a senior, he was named honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference after making 55 tackles with three tackles for loss, four passes broken up, and two forced fumbles.[4] Johnson used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to Iowa State for a fifth season.[5] He moved to safety entering his final season.[6] Johnson was named second team All-Big 12 after finishing the year with 60 tackles, two interceptions, and four passes broken up.[7]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+5⁄8 in (1.82 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) | 8+3⁄4 in (0.22 m) | 6 ft 3+7⁄8 in (1.93 m) | 4.54 s | 1.55 s | 2.59 s | 4.31 s | 7.07 s | 37.5 in (0.95 m) | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) | 12 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[8][9] | ||||||||||||
Green Bay Packers
Johnson was selected in the seventh round, 242nd overall, by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft.[10] The pick had originally belonged to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was traded to the Packers in August 2022 for offensive lineman Cole Van Lanen.[11] Johnson signed his rookie contract on May 5.[12]
Johnson would not make his NFL regular season debut until Week 7 in a 17–19 loss against the Denver Broncos. He only played 15 snaps during the game, 11 of them being on special teams. Johnson made his first career start in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Rams, covering for injured safety Rudy Ford.[13] This turned out to be Johnson's "breakout game", where in the fourth quarter, Rams' quarterback Brett Rypien's pass intended for receiver Cooper Kupp was tipped by Packers' cornerback Jaire Alexander, which allowed Johnson to make a play on the ball and come down with the interception.[14] He finished the game with two pass deflections, one tackle, one interception and played every defensive snap as Green Bay went on to win 20–3.[15] Johnson's best showing as a rookie came Week 12 on Thanksgiving Day in a 29–22 win over their NFC North rival Detroit Lions. He finished with eight total tackles and one pass deflection.[16]
Johnson was released as part of final roster cuts on August 27, 2024.[17]
New York Giants
Johnson was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants on August 28, 2024.[18] He was active for 9 games in the 2024 season, where he was primarily used as a special teams player. He would eventually record 21 snaps on defense, all of them coming in the last two games of the season.
On July 22, 2025, Johnson was waived by the Giants after a failed physical.[19] He cleared waivers the next day, reverting to the reserve/PUP list on July 23.[20] After spending the 2025 season on injured reserve, Johnson was released by the team on March 10, 2026.[21][22]
Chicago Bears
On May 21, 2026, Johnson signed with the Chicago Bears.[23]
NFL career statistics
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 2023 | GB | 12 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NYG | 9 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 21 | 4 | 29 | 20 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Source: pro-football-reference.com | ||||||||||||||||
Postseason
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | Sfty | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 2023 | GB | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Source: pro-football-reference.com | ||||||||||||||||