Duke Johnson Missed Out On Great Opportunity With Browns

Originally posted on The Cold Wire | By Steven Kubitza | Last updated 9/7/21

The Cleveland Browns appeared to have a great running back situation in 2018 with Duke Johnson and Nick Chubb.

Chubb was the big runner and Johnson was a threat as a receiver, the same way Kareem Hunt is now.

Johnson signed a nice three-year extension before the 2018 season, and a year later he was demanding a trade.

The Browns accepted his demand and shipped him to a Houston Texans team where he did not get the playing time he so desired.

Cut to 2021 and Johnson is just looking to find an opportunity anywhere at the age of 27.

He will turn 28 later this month.

Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars have decided to give him a chance on the practice squad.

Former Texans’ running back Duke Johnson is signing today with the Jaguars practice squad, per his agent @DrewJRosenhaus.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 6, 2021

This is not exactly a prime spot for a Drew Rosenhaus client, but it is still a chance to make some money in the NFL.

Tenure With The Browns

The Browns selected Johnson in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft and he instantly had 913 yards from scrimmage as a rookie.

In 2017, he went for over 1,000 yards on a team that finished 0-16.

The drafting of Chubb seemed to rub the veteran the wrong way, but all the Browns were doing was improving the roster.

Johnson still got his three-year extension with over $7 million guaranteed as a committee running back.

He was taken care of, but either could not get along with the coaching staff or got bad advice from his agent.

The signing of Hunt clearly bothered him as well, even though the young runner had to deal with a suspension to begin the 2019 season.

So instead of a dynamic trio for years to come, Johnson wanted out.

A Slightly Above-Average Career

Johnson boosted his value on a terrible Browns team when he had over 1,000 yards combined as a runner and receiver.

DUKE JOHNSON JAGUARS RB1 COMEBACK SZN IN THE AIR GREAT DAY TO BE GREAT

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 6, 2021

However, he has never had another 1,000-yards season and has not even gone over 820 yards since the start of 2018.

Perhaps landing on a practice squad will be good for him as he tries to keep his career going.

Johnson provides a veteran presence for a young Jaguars squad and he even seems like a player the Baltimore Ravens could steal off the practice squad to deal with their own deficiency at the position.

At this point, there are no do-overs.

Johnson should still be grateful to have an NFL opportunity and can just make the best of it.

The Jaguars may not be great, but Johnson could see himself get one more nice NFL contract by performing well on a bad team.

This article first appeared on The Cold Wire and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: