Lee Johnson (American football)

Infobox NFLretired

---

name=Lee Johnson
width=200
caption=LJ in the Flesh
position=Punter
number=10, 11
birthdate=birth date and age|1961|11|27
Conroe, Texas
deathdate=
debutyear=1985
finalyear=2002
draftyear=1985
draftround=5
draftpick=138
college=Brigham Young
teams=
* Houston Oilers (1985-1987)
* Cleveland Browns (1987-1988)
* Cincinnati Bengals (1988-1998)
* New England Patriots (1999-2001)
* Minnesota Vikings (2001)
* Philadelphia Eagles (2002)
stat1label=Punts
stat1value=1,226
stat2label=Punting Yards
stat2value=51,979
stat3label=Punting Avg
stat3value=42.4
nfl=JOH399531
pfr=
dbf=
HOF=
CollegeHOF=

Lee Johnson (born November 27, 1961 in Conroe, Texas) is a former professional American football punter who played 18 seasons in the National Football League. Throughout the course of his career, he played for the Houston Oilers (1985-1987), the Cleveland Browns (1987-1988), the Cincinnati Bengals (1988-1998), the New England Patriots (1999-2001), the Minnesota Vikings (2001), and the Philadelphia Eagles (2002). Before his NFL career, Johnson played college football for Brigham Young University. After graduating college, he was selected by the Oilers in the fifth round of the 1985 NFL Draft.

In his 18 seasons, Johnson played in 259 games and recorded 1,226 punts for 51,979 yards and 317 punts in the 20, with 142 touchbacks. His 70-yard punt in 1990 was the longest of the season, and he led the NFL with a 38.5 net yard average in 1995. At the time of his retirement, his 51,979 punting yards were the 3rd most in NFL history behind Sean Landeta and Jeff Feagles.

His most successful years in the NFL were with the Bengals, where he spent 11 of his 18 seasons and made an NFL championship appearance in Super Bowl XXIII. In that game, Johnson set a record for the longest punt in Super Bowl history (63 yards). By 1998, Johnson had became extremely frustrated with Cincinnati, which had not recorded a winning season since 1990. After a 33-20 loss at home during the 1998 season, Johnson publicly denounced the Bengals management and said if he was a Cincinnati fan with season tickets, he would probably sell them. Johnson was cut by the Bengals the following day, and subsequently signed with the Patriots in the following season. He left the Bengals as their all-time leading punter with 746 punts for 32,196 yards and 186 punts in the 20.

Johnson was the Patriots punter for the next two years, but was cut by the team five games into the 2001 season. He spent the rest of the year with the Vikings and played his final season with the Eagles before retiring from the NFL at age 40.

Further reading

*Ludwig, Chick. Cincinnati Bengals, The Legends. Willmington, OH: Orange Frazer P, 2004. ISBN 1-882203-38-0

External links

*"Database Football:" [http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=JOHNSLEE01 Lee Johnson statistics]