Steelers Now
NEW ORLEANS — The NFL career of former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Fred Johnson did not get off to the kind of start he was hoping for.
Johnson has persevered, and six years later, he’s a Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson, a reserve tackle, played on seven snaps of offense as the Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday.
But that isn’t necessarily something that Johnson saw in his mind’s eye on draft day in 2019.
“No, not at all,” Johnson admitted last week during Super Bowl media day.
“All I could see in that moment was empty faces and lost smiles from my family. And then trying to figure out what the next step was. I couldn’t control that situation. And I was looking for another opportunity.”
That next opportunity came with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who signed Johnson as an undrafted free agent. Johnson turned some heads at Steelers training camp as a rookie, and showed enough to earn a spot on the team’s initial 53-man roster.
But he was caught in a number’s game, and was waived midway through the season, starting a wayward journey through the NFL. He was claimed on waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals, and spent three years with the Bengals, before he was cut again in the 2022 offseason.
He signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was cut again after five games. He cleared waivers and went to the Philadelphia Eagles for a tryout. He nearly got on a plane leaving Philadelphia, and thinking his NFL journey might be over.
“When [Eagles offensive line coach] Jeff Stoutland and then took a chance on me, that whole process of getting in waved and going in and trying out,” he said. “Basically, the scouts were telling me, hey we’re going to take you to the airport. It seemed like a done deal. [Stoutland] ended up coming in at the last second and saying, hey we got an audible. We think you’re staying.
“That took me some time to really fully appreciate and realize, and I think that Stoutland, he never gave up on me.”
Johnson has gone from an undrafted to bouncing around the league to a key reserve on one of the best offensive lines in football.
This season, when right tackle Lane Johnson missed a game and a half and left tackle Jordan Mailata was out four weeks, Johnson got the call. He made six starts tying a career high, Johnson played well, and the Eagles went 6-1 in games where he played more than 50 snaps this year.
Very dominant game by the Oline, especially losing Lane and Mekhi, Steen and Big Fred showed up today!
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) September 22, 2024
“I don’t think I did the best I could have, but I certainly put some good film out there,” Johnson said. “I definitely feel like I maximized my opportunity. And I helped this team get to this point.”...
