Late in the offseason, the Los Angeles Rams signed safety John Johnson to a one-year contract, making their reunion with an old buddy official. However, the reunion did not produce the desired results in the first half of the season. Before spending the last two seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Johnson played his first four years of football in Los Angeles. He played nearly exclusively on special teams over the first eight games, seeing only nine defensive snaps. On Nov. 5, he played against the Green Bay Packers a little more, but he only saw 16 defensive snaps overall.
During the Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday, everything changed. Johnson had his finest game of the year with three tackles and a pass breakup, recording 46 defensive snaps (71 percent), more than he had the entire season prior. The Rams’ faith in Johnson paid off as they defeated their opponent 17–16 after a fierce battle and a strong defensive showing.
Rams coach Sean McVay disclosed how Johnson deserved his bigger role returned after a lengthy absence following the game. McVay told reporters on Monday, “I think John had earned the right to be able to get on the grass.” “He had performed admirably. We felt a great deal of faith in him. I believe there was a timeline that he needed to follow, possibly a little bit longer, in order to get himself back into excellent physical and mental health, as well as some of the many aspects that are consistent with the JJ that we all know.
As Johnson’s outbursts increased, someone else’s were bound to decrease. This other person in this instance was safety Russ Yeast, who played just 14 defensive snaps (22 percent) on Sunday despite being a consistent player on the back end the whole season. Yeast’s snap count was down, but McVay still gave both guys credit for their roles in the victory. McVay stated, “I thought Russ capitalized on the snaps that he did play and some crucial known passing situations for us, and I thought he [Johnson] did a really good job yesterday.”
The Rams defense is thrilled to hear that Johnson is playing closer to his former self from Los Angeles, even though it took some time for him to get there.
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