Raiders New Starting Safety Shares 9-Word Message After Scary Practice Injury

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Lonnie Johnson Jr. (r) of the Las Vegas Raiders had to be carted off the field Saturday.

A free agent signing in March who the Las Vegas Raiders had tabbed for a starting slot at the safety position, after spending most of last season confined to a special teams role will now probably never get the chance after he was carted off the field during a “mock” scrimmage intra-squad game on Saturday, according to a report by Levi Damien of USA Today RaidersWire.

“The Raiders held their camp practice in the form of a mock game at Allegiant Stadium. They’re in pads going full speed, but no tackling to the ground just as with any padded practice,” Damien reported. “But, even still, in the second quarter, disaster struck. Starting safety Lonnie Johnson Jr. was rolled up on by a teammate and went down in a heap with an apparent leg injury.”

Crosby Rolls Up on Teammate’s Leg

According to a post by KNTV sports reporter Nick Walters, it was two-time All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby who fell on Johnson’s leg.

The 29-year-old Johnson was a second-round draft pick of the Houston Texans in 2019, taken 54th overall out of Kentucky.

Journeyman Career Lands in Las Vegas

But after three season with the Texans in which he started a total of only 19 games, with only three interceptions — all coming in 2021, his final season in Houston — Johnson has bounced around the NFL. The Texans traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022. But the Chiefs cut him during training camp that year.

He spent 2022 with the Tennessee Titans, but did not start a game and managed to get on the field for just 165 defensive snaps, while playing mostly on special teams. He then signed with the New Orleans Saints and managed to hang on there for a season in 2023 but again was confined mainly to special teams assignments.

Johnson Hoped to Revive Career With Raiders

Last season with the Carolina Panthers, Johnson Jr., played almost exclusively on special teams, getting only 13 snaps, all at safety, in 15 games.

“The former second round pick had just spoken just yesterday about how excited he was that after three years of toiling on special teams, he was brought to a team with plans to start and have a role on defense again,” wrote Damien in his Saturday report. “He is genuinely one of those guys you root for to get his career back on track.”

Johnson Shares Upbeat Message After Injury

After his injury on Saturday, Johnson stayed down for several minutes before a cart came on to the field to take him away. The Raiders did not announce the exact details of Johnson’s injury, or how long he was expected to be sidelined.

Head coach Pete Carroll, while admitting that even he did not “know all the details” of what happened to Johnson, called the injury “significant.”

But in a one-word message posted to his X (formerly Twitter) account, the six-year veteran said that the mishap did not get his spirits down.

“Imma soldier chin up chest out,” he posted. “God got me!!”

The Raiders signed Johnson to a free agent contract in March, after 2021 second-round pick Tre’von Moehrig departed for Carolina, who offered him a three-year contract for $51 million.

Las Vegas signed Johnson for one year, at $1.65 million.