Rufus Johnson (American football)

Rufus Johnson (born August 28, 1990) is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tarleton State.[1]

Rufus Johnson
Free agent
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1990-08-28) August 28, 1990
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:272 lb (123 kg)
Career information
High school:Dallas (TX) Grady Spruce
College:Tarleton State
NFL Draft:2013 / Round: 6 / Pick: 183
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2015
Total tackles:1
Forced fumbles:0
Sacks:0.0
Player stats at NFL.com

College career

Johnson is only the fourth player from Tarleton to be drafted by the NFL, and as the 183rd overall pick he is the highest NFL draft pick in school history. As a senior, he was Lone Star Conference defensive lineman of the year, and was chosen for several Division II all-America teams.[2] Before Tarleton, he spent two years at Kilgore College.[3] He caught the Saints' attention with a strong performance at the Texas vs The Nation all-star game.[4][5]

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Johnson spent the entire 2013 regular season on the Saints practice squad, but was promoted for the teams divisional round playoff matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, Johnson was inactive for the game.[6] The Saints released Johnson on August 26, 2014.[7]

New England Patriots

On December 31, 2014, the New England Patriots signed Johnson to a future/reserve contract.[8] After impressing many in the preseason Johnson made the Patriots 53-man roster for the start of the 2015 NFL season, he appeared in his first game as a pro and recorded his first tackle in the Patriots week two victory against Buffalo.[9] On October 28, 2015, he was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list due to an illness, ending his 2015 season.[10]

On September 3, 2016, Johnson was released by the Patriots as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[11][12] On September 7, 2016, Johnson was released from the Patriots' practice squad.[13]

Washington Redskins

Johnson signed to the Redskins' practice squad on December 28, 2016.[14] He signed a futures contract with the Redskins on January 2, 2017.[15]

On May 2, 2017, Johnson was waived by the Redskins.[16]

Oakland Raiders

On August 4, 2017, Johnson was signed by the Oakland Raiders.[17] He was waived on September 2, 2017.[18]

References
  1. Glenn Guilbeau, "Saints eye another gem in Tarleton State's Rufus Johnson", Shreveport Times, February 23, 2013.
  2. Brad Keith, "Tarleton's Johnson drafted by Saints: Defensive end is Texans' highest-ever pick", Stephenville Empire-Tribune, April 27, 2013.
  3. Mark David, "College notes: Tarleton State's Rufus trying impress NFL scouts", Abilene Reporter-News, February 6, 2013.
  4. Mike Triplett, "New Orleans Saints follow same obscure path with Tarleton State DE Rufus Johnson that has led to great success in past", Times-Picayune, April 27, 2013.
  5. "Saints Impressed by Rufus Johnson at the Texas vs. The Nation Game", NewOrleansSaints.com, April 27, 2013.
  6. http://www.patriots.com/team/players/roster/rufus-johnson
  7. New Orleans Saints announce roster moves
  8. Kyed, Doug. "Patriots Sign Three, Including RB Dion Lewis, To Future Contracts". NESN. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  9. http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2015/09/rufus_johnson_and_chris_harper.html
  10. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4786871/de-rufus-johnsons-season-ends-due-to-illness-patriots-claim-safety
  11. "Patriots reach the 53-man roster limit". Patriots.com. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on November 6, 2017.
  12. "Patriots sign eight players to the practice squad". Patriots.com. September 5, 2016. Archived from the original on September 16, 2017.
  13. "Patriots sign LB Quentin Gause to practice squad; Release LB Rufus Johnson from practice squad". Patriots.com. September 7, 2016.
  14. Czarda, Stephen (December 28, 2016). "Redskins Sign Josh Evans, Place Donte Whitner Sr. On Injured Reserve". Redskins.com. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  15. "Redskins Sign Nine To Reserve/Future Contracts". Redskins.com. January 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  16. "05/02: Redskins Make Roster Moves". Redskins.com. May 2, 2017.
  17. "Raiders Announce Transactions". Raiders.com. August 4, 2017.
  18. "Raiders Announce Transactions". Raiders.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017.
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