He is back, baby.
A long-lost former New York Jets quarterback, Josh Johnson, has resurfaced this week. The Washington Commanders announced that Johnson will serve as the QB1 for their Christmas game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17.
Johnson, 39, has played for 14 different NFL teams — the most in league history. He joined the Commanders this offseason on a one-year deal.
Johnson has appeared in 48 games and has made nine starts in his career. He is set to make his 10th start. With those opportunities, Johnson has completed 58% of his passes, has thrown for 2,340 passing yards, and has a 13 touchdown to 17 interception ratio.
The former San Diego product has also added 426 rushing yards, averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and has scored one touchdown on the ground.
Johnson’s History With the Green and White
He hasn’t started an NFL game since 2021. That is the same year that he last suited up for the Jets.
Johnson was with the Jets for two stints during his career. In 2015, he spent all of nine days with the team during training camp. The second venture with the Jets lasted much longer. He spent four and a half months with the team, floating between their 90-man roster, practice squad, and active roster.
He appeared in three games that season. Johnson completed 64.4% of his passes, had three passing touchdowns to one interception, and threw for 334 passing yards.
In December of 2021, Johnson was poached off the Jets’ practice squad by the Baltimore Ravens. We haven’t seen him since.
It’s Backup QB Season in the NFL With Two Weeks Left to Play
NFL Insider Ari Meirov pointed out that the triple header of Christmas games on Thursday, December 25, will “feature two third-string QBs and a backup QB — with four eliminated teams total.”
That group includes Johnson as QB1 for the Commanders, Max Brosmer for the Minnesota Vikings, and Chris Oladokun for the Kansas City Chiefs.
My good buddy Moe Moton of Bleacher Report said it best on social media, “So we’re getting another wave of NFL preseason games mixed with regular season games in the next 2 weeks.”
The Ultimate Tank War Has Been Waged
The Jets were accused this week of tanking and trying to purposefully lose games.
However, two other teams hold the crown this week in the NFL.
One of the most highly anticipated matchups doesn’t include playoff teams. Instead, it is two teams vying for the No. 1 overall pick.
The 2-13 Las Vegas Raiders host the 2-13 New York Giants. Whoever wins this game will control their own destiny to the top pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
The Giants are considered a 1.5-point favorite, but it’s hard to tell who is actually expected to win this game.
“The Raiders are placing star TE Brock Bowers on injured reserve today, officially ending his season, per sources. Bowers has dealt with a knee injury since Week 1. With playoffs long out of reach, the decision was made to get it taken care of now and focus on being 100% in 2026,” NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero shared on social media.
That was followed up by some interesting news from the Giants.
“LT Andrew Thomas, S Tyler Nubin, C John Michael-Schmitz, OL Evan Neal, and DL DJ Davidson won’t practice on Wednesday, per Mike Kafka,” ESPN’s Jordan Raanan posted on social media.
“Giants trying to counter the Raiders shutting down Brock Bowers for pick No. 1,” Moe Moton of Bleacher Report posted.
For Jets fans, it’s simple. You want to root for a Raiders win. They need a quarterback. The Giants don’t need one. If you can’t land the No. 1 overall pick yourself, you want a team that has a QB to secure that pick so they will consider trading it to you.
If Las Vegas ends up with the top choice, they probably won’t trade it to you regardless of the price you will pay, and will instead take the QB themselves.
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