If Flacco returns, it wouldn’t be the first time he and Johnson are teammates. Six days before the Bengals played the Jets in 2021, the Eagles traded Flacco to New York. Because of COVID restrictions, Johnson was active and Flacco wasn’t.
When White had to miss five plays, Johnson finished off a field-goal drive before White came back to finish the Jets’ 34-31 win. When Flacco was activated, Johnson was signed by the Ravens off the Jets practice squad 11 days before Baltimore headed to Paycor.
Naturally, it was Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban who delivered the news to Johnson the day before the trip to Cincinnati. Urban, the Bengals receivers coach in 2013, told Johnson that Tyler Huntley was sick and he was the man.
“We stayed in downtown Cincinnati, and I remember staying up until 2:30 studying,” said Johnson, who threw for 304 yards himself. “Just making sure I knew everything so I can go out here and try to give us the best chance to win. We did some good things on offense, but with what Burrow and the guys were doing on the other side, we couldn’t keep up that day … I threw for 300, but he overshadowed me.
“I wasn’t trying to watch because I knew how good they were. I was just trying to stay in the moment and not trying to really make it about me versus them. Just trying to make sure that we go down there and score every time because I already knew how good they were.”
Besides Zac Taylor’s homework, that 41-21 loss to Burrow is one of the reasons he wants to back him up.
“What are the Cincinnati Bengals right now, and as a quarterback, that’s the best offense in the league, the talent speaks for itself,” Johnson said. “The production speaks for itself. I’ve been on the other sidelines watching it, so to be a part of that is very enticing.”
That game also shows what they want in a backup. They saw Flacco keep them competitive in a game last year, even though he didn’t get the playbook until five days before. Johnson had the same kind of prep before he had the second-biggest game of his career against Burrow’s best.
Johnson’s many stops helped him out there. He had then-Ravens offense coordinator Greg Roman in Buffalo and San Francisco. Since he came into the league as a fifth-round pick of Tampa Bay in Flacco’s 2008 draft, Johnson has made it to the regular season with seven teams and with three clubs twice while exposed to every offense imaginable.