Steve Johnson (American football)
Encyclopedia
Buffalo Bills
Johnson was drafted by the Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the seventh round (224th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26 and April 27, 2008. For the 29th consecutive year, ESPN televised the draft; the NFL Network also broadcast the event, its third year doing so...
.
His first reception came in Week 5 against the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and went for 8 yards. In Week 15, against the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Johnson caught his first touchdown reception, a two-yard pass from J. P. Losman. He caught his second touchdown a week later against the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on a three-yard pass from Trent Edwards
Trent Edwards
Trent Edwards is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
. Johnson finished his rookie season with 10 receptions for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Battling a severe rib injury in 2009, he only managed 2 catches for 10 yards.
After good off-season practices Johnson was able to win the starting receiver position before 2010 season
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League.The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions, defeated the Minnesota Vikings 14–9.Tom Brady,...
. After losing his starting position early in the season, he regained it with a string of good performances. In a Week 7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
, Johnson had a career-game, catching 8 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, he set a career-high in catches with 11 for 145 yards against the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
In a Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
, he caught 8 passes for 137 yards and a career-milestone 3 touchdowns. After his first touchdown, Johnson lifted his jersey to reveal the question "Why so serious?" written on his T-shirt. The quote, made famous by The Joker in the Batman movie The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight (film)
The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
., was directed at Bengals wide receivers Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Owens has been one of the dominant receivers of his era...
and Chad Ochocinco, who referred to themselves as Batman and Robin. Johnson was fined $5,000 by the league office for the celebration.
Johnson finished his breakout campaign with 82 receptions, 1073 yards and 10 touchdowns. Following the season, Johnson was named the 2010 Vizio
Vizio
Vizio is a privately held producer of consumer electronics, based in Irvine, California, USA. It was founded in October 2002 as V Inc. Vizio's major partner in the consumer electronics arena is AmTran Technology, a Taiwan-based OEM/ODM that manufactures more than half of the televisions sold...
Top Value Performer for being the NFL player who outplayed his salary by the widest margin.
Personal
Johnson is married to his wife, Britney, and has two children, a daughter, Miyah, born in August 2007 and a son, Steve, born in April 2009.Johnson is the cousin of bay-area rapper Ya Boy
Ya Boy
William Joseph Crawford , better known by his stage name Ya Boy, is an American rapper from the Fillmore District, San Francisco. He is a younger cousin of San Francisco rapper San Quinn and also the cousin of Bills WR Steve Johnson. Crawford graduated from El Camino High School in South San...
.
Rap
In September 2011, Johnson released a mixtape called "Why So Serious" with G5Gi. The title refers to the quote he had on his shirt to insult Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens after he scored a touchdown over the Bengals. He released the mixtape under the name SJ13. The mixtape was produced by DJ Rockstar and features songs such as "Inked Up", "Going In", and "Back to the Money".Johnson also is one of the Certified Flyguyz. He also contributed to the mixtape My Brother and Me...The Takeoff" with Jared 'Air Marley' and Rich 'Thee Flyguy' hosted by Hood Noise.