Lee Johnson (punter)

Leland Eric Johnson (born November 27, 1961) is a former professional American football punter who played 18 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Throughout the course of his career, he played for the Houston Oilers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, and Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, Johnson played college football for Brigham Young University (BYU).

Lee Johnson

Johnson in Leadville in 2010
No. 10, 11, 12, 6
Position:	Punter
Personal information
Born:	(1961-11-27) November 27, 1961 Conroe, Texas, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:	McCullough (The Woodlands, Texas)
College:	BYU
NFL draft:	1985 / round: 5 / pick: 138
Career history
Houston Oilers (1985–1987) Cleveland Browns (1987–1988) Cincinnati Bengals (1988–1998) New England Patriots (1999–2001) Minnesota Vikings (2001) Philadelphia Eagles (2002)
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl champion (XXXVI) Cincinnati Bengals 40th Anniversary Team National champion (1984)
Career NFL statistics
Punts: 1,226 Punt yards: 51,979 Punt average: 42.4 Stats at Pro Football Reference

Johnson was born in Conroe, Texas and was a punter and kicker for McCullough High School in The Woodlands, Texas.

Johnson was a punter for BYU and was a member of the 1984 National Championship team. He was nicknamed "Thunderfoot" while at BYU. Johnson was an All-American selection in 1984.

After graduating college, Johnson was selected by the Houston 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 third most in NFL history behind Sean Landeta and Jeff Feagles.

Johnson's most successful years in the NFL were with the Bengals, where he spent 11 of his 18 seasons and made a championship game 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 become 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 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 41.

NFL career statistics

Legend
	Won the Super Bowl
	Led the league
Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	Punting
		GP	Punts	Yds	Net Yds	Lng	Avg	Net Avg	Blk	Ins20	TB
1985	HOU	16	83	3,464	2,959	65	41.7	35.7	0	22	8
1986	HOU	16	88	3,623	3,140	66	41.2	35.7	0	26	9
1987	HOU	9	41	1,652	1,349	59	40.3	32.9	0	5	3
	CLE	3	9	317	291	66	35.2	32.3	0	3	1
1988	CLE	3	17	643	-	61	37.8	-	0	0	0
	CIN	12	14	863	514	52	42.4	36.7	0	4	1
1989	CIN	16	61	2,446	1,903	62	40.1	30.2	2	14	11
1990	CIN	16	64	2,705	2,193	70	42.3	34.3	0	12	8
1991	CIN	16	64	2,795	2,219	62	43.7	34.7	0	15	6
1992	CIN	16	76	3,196	2,732	64	42.1	35.9	0	15	9
1993	CIN	16	90	3,954	3,298	60	43.9	36.6	0	24	12
1994	CIN	16	79	3,461	2,822	64	43.8	35.3	1	19	9
1995	CIN	16	68	2,861	2,627	61	42.1	38.6	0	26	4
1996	CIN	16	80	3,630	2,788	67	45.4	34.4	1	16	17
1997	CIN	16	81	3,471	2,904	66	42.9	35.9	0	27	8
1998	CIN	13	69	3,083	2,495	69	44.7	35.6	1	14	8
1999	NWE	16	90	3,735	3,110	58	41.5	34.6	0	23	14
2000	NWE	16	89	3,798	3,314	62	42.7	36.8	1	31	5
2001	NWE	5	24	1,045	920	76	43.5	38.3	0	3	3
	MIN	4	25	983	859	59	39.3	34.4	0	9	3
2002	PHI	2	14	523	388	53	37.4	27.7	0	4	2
Career		259	1,226	51,979	42,825	76	42.4	34.8	6	312	141

Playoffs

Year	Team	Punting
		GP	Punts	Yds	Net Yds	Lng	Avg	Net Avg	Blk	Ins20	TB
1987	CLE	2	3	133	120	59	44.3	40.0	0	1	0
1988	CIN	3	17	718	630	63	42.2	37.1	0	7	0
1990	CIN	2	8	393	334	64	49.1	41.8	0	1	0
2002	PHI	2	12	486	448	64	40.5	37.3	0	6	0
Career		9	40	1,730	1,532	64	43.3	38.3	0	15	0

Post-football

Johnson is a mountain cyclist, having competed in the Leadville 100 nine times, with a personal best time of 9 hours 27 minutes. Johnson owns a barbecue restaurant, Five Star BBQ, with two others, in Orem, Utah.

Further reading

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

External links

• Database Football: Lee Johnson statistics