HEADLINES

D’Ernest Johnson

Jaguars To Re-Sign RB D’Ernest Johnson

March 12th, 2024 at 10:59am CST by Ben Levine

Plenty of running backs have reached agreements with new teams recently, but D’Ernest Johnson will be staying in place. The depth rusher is re-signing with the Jaguars on a one-year deal, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The former UDFA started his career as Nick Chubb‘s backup in Cleveland. Serving as a RB2 behind a workhorse RB naturally limited Johnson’s snaps, but the RB did get an extended look in 2021. He started two of his 17 appearances that season, finishing with 671 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

He caught on with the Jaguars last offseason but started the year as the RB3 behind Travis Etienne and rookie Tank Bigsby. He eventually supplanted his rookie teammate as the RB2, with the bulk of his 194 snaps coming in the second half of the season. Johnson ultimately finished the year with 248 yards from scrimmage, the second-highest total of his career.

The Jaguars will likely return the same RB corps in 2024. After missing his rookie season, Etienne hasn’t missed a game over the past two years. However, an injury could occur at any time, and Johnson may get the first look ahead of Bigsby in such a scenario.

 

Jaguars To Add RB D’Ernest Johnson

March 22nd, 2023 at 12:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns could well lose their second- and third-string running backs from the past two seasons. While Kareem Hunt remains unsigned, D’Ernest Johnson will change teams.

Johnson is signing a one-year deal with the Jaguars, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The Browns were interested in retaining Johnson, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com adds (on Twitter), but the Florida native will move on after four seasons in Ohio.

Jacksonville has both re-signed its second-stringer from last season — JaMycal Hasty — and now added Johnson as a Travis Etienne backup option. Johnson, 27, did not see much action last season, but injuries to Hunt and Nick Chubb in the past allowed the former Alliance of American Football performer some run in Cleveland. Hunt missing time in 2021 opened the door to a 534-yard Johnson rushing season, leading the Browns to retain him via a one-year, $2.43MM contract in 2022.

With both Chubb and Hunt out for a Thursday-night game against the Broncos in 2021, Johnson displayed his ball-carrying chops to a national audience. The unlikely NFLer powered the Browns to a victory with a 146-yard rushing performance, adding 22 receiving yards during the victory. Johnson also produced a 99-yard game against the Patriots that season and zoomed for 123 against Bengals backups in a meaningless Week 18 contest.

Chubb is signed to a three-year, $36.6MM extension, which runs through the 2024 season. Hunt played out his second Browns contract last season. The team has 2022 fifth-round pick Jerome Ford, along with John Kelly and Nate McCreary on its offseason roster. Ford totaled eight carries last season, which topped Johnson’s four in the Chubb-Hunt attack. While Hunt has long been expected to leave, he is one of the last notable backs still unsigned. The market not producing an early deal for the Cleveland-area native could potentially lead to he and the Browns discussing another partnership.

The Jaguars gave Hasty a two-year, $2.9MM extension earlier this offseason. It should not be expected Johnson’s deal will surpass this by much — if at all. Etienne overtook James Robinson as Jacksonville’s starter early last season, leading the Jags to trade their two-time 1,000-yard rusher to the Jets. Robinson, who made little impact in New York, is now with New England. Two years remain on Etienne’s rookie deal, and the Jags can keep him through 2025 via the fifth-year option.

Browns Notes: Clowney, Stefanski, Watson, Johnson

January 15th, 2023 at 5:56pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jadeveon Clowney made plenty of headlines recently with his remarks suggesting the Browns made a concerted effort on multiple occasions to give fellow edge rusher Myles Garrett favorable one-on-one matchups this season. The incident led to the 29-year-old being sent home for the season finale, and provided a further sign that he will be playing elsewhere in 2023.

Earlier this week, however, Clowney apologized to Garrett, who himself had a noteworthy public response to Clowney’s accusations. A statement from the latter said in part, “As a man I have reached out to Myles specifically to apologize. I will continue to learn and grow as a I move forward” (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter). Clowney also claimed that his initial remarks were “completely misrepresented” and “taken out of context.”

On that point, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com has since responded that Clowney was quoted verbatim in their interview which included his statement that he had a “5%” chance of re-signing with the Browns this offseason. It remains to be seen if Clowney’s apology will increase the likelihood of another free agent deal being signed between the two parties, or if the former No. 1 pick will depart in a change-of-scenery move.

Here are some other Browns-related notes:

  • In light of issues such as defensive performance (which led to DC Joe Woods being fired) and discipline surrounding the team in 2022, questions have been raised regarding whether or not head coach Kevin Stefanski will delegate offensive play-calling duties. Cabot writes that he will likely retain his current role in 2023, however, citing his relationship with quarterback Deshaun Watson and their need to rebuild the playbook together as a main reason (subscription required). The Browns struggled to move the ball through the air this season, one in which Watson was suspended for the first 11 games, but they ranked sixth in the league with an average of 147 yards per game on the ground.
  • Watson’s suspension is now over, of course, but his legal battle is not. The embattled signal-caller will be forced to sit for a deposition pertaining to the 26th civil lawsuit filed against him, as detailed by USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer. After settling most of the claims made against him this summer, Watson, 27, currently faces two outstanding suits alleging sexual misconduct during massage sessions dating back to his time with the Texans.
  • Cleveland had one of the most highly-touted backfields this season, led by Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Their third-stringer, D’Ernest Johnson, also flashed plenty of potential in 2021 when called upon as a spot-starter, though, leading to expectations that he could replicate his success during this campaign. He received only 11 touches all year, however, something which he explained, via Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal, was a major source of frustration. The 26-year-old added that he has not yet head from the Browns regarding a new deal, signalling that he will head elsewhere in search of a larger workload in free agency.

AFC North Rumors: Trubisky, Apple, Pratt, Johnson

June 24th, 2022 at 8:34pm CST by Ely Allen

With Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Deshaun Watson (tentatively) being cemented behind center in Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, respectively, Pittsburgh is working to name their starting quarterback to open the 2022 NFL season. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the current situation points towards free agent acquisition Mitchell Trubisky being named the starter for the Steelers’ season opener in Cincinnati.

On 105.7 The Fan, Dulac was quoted saying, “I think the plan is, and I don’t think there is any question about this, unless something would dictate otherwise including injury, I think Mitch Trubisky will go into the regular season as the starter.” He continued, “NFL teams don’t draft quarterbacks No. 1 to have them be the third quarterback and a gameday scratch. I expect Kenny Pickett to be the guy who dresses on gameday (as the primary backup).”

When asked where that leaves five-year veteran Mason Rudolph, Dulac thinks the Steelers will have “a little bit more respect than to keep him around as the third quarterback and a gameday scratch.” Dulac believes Pittsburgh would rather have the two parties mutually move on and try to find him a trade to a desirable location.

Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC North, starting with a couple rumors from the division (and conference) champions from last year:

  • When detailing some training camp position battles in Cincinnati this summer, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic asserted that six-year veteran cornerback Eli Apple will be favored to keep his starting job over rookie second-round pick Cam Taylor-Britt. After the rollercoaster start of his career, Apple played well last year for the Bengals. Despite the team spending heavy draft-capital on his position by drafting Taylor-Britt early, Apple has reportedly responded very well to the pressure and kept his eye on the ball. Taylor-Britt may eventually unseat the incumbent, but, for now, expect to see Apple across from Diontae Johnson or Chase Claypool to open the season this September.
  • Expanding further on the Bengals’ offseason to-do list, Dehner Jr. reported on some possible extension candidates in Cincinnati, claiming that, for now, the Bengals don’t view linebacker Germaine Pratt as an extension candidate. Since Cincinnati selected him in the third-round of 2019, Pratt has been a formidable defender, racking up 76 tackles as a rookie as well as 89 and 91 tackles in the two seasons since. Despite his defensive tenacity, it doesn’t appear that Pratt does quite enough to force an early decision from the Bengals on his future. Instead, Pratt will want to put together a contract year that will either convince Cincinnati to keep him around or convince another franchise to spend big to bring him in. The Bengals will allow him to play out the last year of his rookie deal and assess his value before free agency.
  • Despite the recent one-year deal running back D’Ernest Johnson signed earlier this month to remain in Cleveland, ESPN’s Jake Trotter believes that Johnson could still potentially find himself as the odd man out of a loaded running back room for the Browns. With Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt cemented as 1-2 at running back, Johnson is competing with 2021 draft pick Demetric Felton and 2022 Draft pick Jerome Ford for playing time behind them. Since both Felton and Ford offer versatility to rush and receive out of the backfield, along with cheap rookie deals, it’s not out of the question to imagine Johnson on the outside looking in. In this case, the Browns may want to find a trade-partner to take Johnson and make sure they don’t completely waste the deal they awarded him weeks ago.

Latest On D’Ernest Johnson’s Browns Deal

June 13th, 2022 at 10:09pm CST by Ely Allen

A little over a week ago, the Browns reached an agreement to re-sign running back D’Ernest Johnson to a one-year deal. Pro Football Focus’ Doug Kyed reported some details on the contract. 

Johnson’s deal is billed as a one-year, $2.43MM contract. The deal will have a base salary of $1.07MM with a guaranteed amount of $729,125 and a signing bonus of $151,500. It is unclear from Kyed’s breakdown if the reported guaranteed amount includes the signing bonus or if it is an additional guaranteed portion of the base salary.

Johnson will also have the ability to increase the maximum value of the contract through a number of performance-based incentives. He can earn an additional $450K if he reaches 545 rushing yards and can up that bonus to $608,250 if he can get to 670 rushing yards. Likewise, Johnson can earn an additional $450K if he reaches 700 total yards from scrimmage and can increase that bonus to $608,250 if he can total 835 yards from scrimmage. The achievement of earning any of these incentive bonuses would represent career-highs in either category for Johnson.

The Browns had placed a $2.43MM restricted free agent tender on Johnson in March. The base salary ($1.07MM), the signing bonus ($151,500), and the two maximum incentive bonuses ($608,250 each) make up that $2.43MM amount.

Browns Reach Agreement With RB D’Ernest Johnson

June 4th, 2022 at 2:46pm CST by Adam La Rose

The Browns showed their interest in retaining running back D’Ernest Johnson when they gave him an RFA tender. Today, they have come to terms with him on a one-year deal (Twitter link via ESPN’s Adam Schefter).

The contract is worth up to $2.433MM – the exact amount of this year’s right of first refusal tender. However, as detailed by Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (on Twitter), this is a new deal, rather than a matter of Johnson simply signing the tender. The pact includes $900K in guaranteed money.

The 26-year-old has been with the Browns since 2019. He saw a significant amount of playing time on special teams, including opportunities as both a punt and kick returner. That continued the following year, but he did see a slight uptick in offensive snaps as well. It was in 2021 that he took a significant step forward in terms of production.

Appearing in all 17 games (including two starts), the former UDFA turned 100 carries into 534 rushing yards and three touchdowns; he added another 137 off of 19 receptions. For the third straight season, he averaged no fewer than five yards per carry, though that figure holds much more weight in the context of his 2021 workload. Given that efficiency, it came as little surprise that the Browns tendered him.

Still, the fact that Johnson sits third on the team’s RB depth chart (behind Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt) makes this move a relatively expensive one. Cleveland currently has Chubb on one of the most lucrative deals in the league at the position, along with Hunt under contract for one more season at a cap hit of $6.25MM. The latter is still part of the team’s long-term plans, despite the presence of Johnson, Demetric Felton and fifth round rookie Jerome Ford. For the upcoming campaign, Johnson will remain a proven depth option available for at least a rotational role.

RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/11/22

March 11th, 2022 at 5:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

The deadline for teams to extend tender offers to their restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents looms next week. We’ll keep tabs on the latest here:

RFAs

Tendered:

ERFAs

Tendered:

Non-tendered:

NFL COVID-19 List Updates: 1/8/22

January 8th, 2022 at 6:52pm CST by Ely Allen

Today’s updates for the reserve/COVID-19 and practice squad/COVID-19 lists:

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Football Team

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/19

May 16th, 2019 at 4:16pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Signed: G R.J. Prince
  • Waived: G Kofi Amichia, TE Nick Keizer

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

  • Signed: D’Ernest Johnson
  • Waived: RB L.J. Scott

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

  • Waived: WR Justin Sumpter

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: WR Bryant Mitchell
  • Waived: LS Dan Godsil

Tennessee Titans