DE Austin Johnson chooses Bills over Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals were reportedly scheduled to have former Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Austin Johnson in for a visit on Friday after having met with the Buffalo Bills. Whether or not that scheduled visit happened, he will not be signing with the Cardinals.
First “reported” by Bills defensive lineman DaQuan Jones and then confirmed by NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Johnson is signing a one-year deal with the Bills.
Johnson and Jones were teammates when both played for the Tennessee Titans.
Johnson is 29 years old and listed at 6-foot-4 and 314 pounds. He was drafted in the second round by the Tennessee Titans in 2016, played four seasons for them, followed by two with the New York Giants and, most recently, two years with the Los Angeles Chargers.
He played and started all 17 games last season for the Chargers. He logged 46 total tackles, two for loss, a quarterback hit, two tipped passes, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Over the last seven seasons, the only games he missed were nine in 2022 when he injured his MCL and fractured his knee. He returned last season to play every game and play 640 defensive snaps, the second time in three seasons he played more than 600.
Considering the Cardinals, even after signing three free agent defensive linemen, were willing to bring in Johnson, perhaps we will see them adding another veteran defensive lineman in the near future.
Austin Johnson, a defensive lineman, is being signed by the Bills.
DaQuan Jones, a defensive tackle for the Bills, broke the story on social media first. Johnson and Jones were teammates on the Titans and at Penn State.
According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the one-year contract may be valued up to $4 million.
Johnson visited the Cardinals on Friday, but he opted for the Bills.
He played for the Chargers for the previous two seasons, starting all 16 games and tallying 46 tackles, two passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. During his eight years in the NFL, he has also played for the Giants and the Titans.
