John Johnson III left the Rams in free agency in 2021 after spending the first four years of his career in Los Angeles. He signed a three-year, $33.75 million deal with the Browns, but he only played two years of that contract before being cut by the team this past March.
On Sunday, he’ll get to face his former team as a member of his original team when the Rams square off against the Browns. Johnson started the year slow and didn’t earn significant snaps until Week 11, but he’s a full-time player now as the Rams gear up to face Cleveland this weekend.
Johnson told Adam Grosbard of the Los Angeles Daily News that while “it’ll be fun” to face the Browns, he’s treating it like any other game.
“I told somebody else it’s going to feel like practice a little bit,” Johnson said, “but we can actually go live, tackle them to ground. So it’ll be fun, but when I’m out there it’s a nameless, faceless opponent wearing orange colors.”
Johnson’s tenure with the Browns didn’t go according to plan. He played and started 32 games in two seasons, but he fell out of favor after struggling a bit in 2022, leading to his release.
Johnson said he felt like he was “kind of in limbo,” though he did admit he could’ve done things a little bit differently to help himself in Cleveland.
“I felt like I stayed stagnant, if anything,” he said. “I felt like I was just kind of in limbo. … I probably could have did some things differently, but the past is the past and I got another opportunity to prove who I am.”
Johnson is coming off his best game of the season, recording four tackles with two pass breakups against the Cardinals. With Quentin Lake likely out another week, Johnson should continue to see a lot of playing time this week against Cleveland.