Old friend Josh Johnson has been around long enough to be a walking trivia quiz answer at Bengals tailgates, not to mention a reliable NFL backup quarterback.
His first NFL start for Tampa Bay in 2009 came against another future Bengals backup quarterback in Jason Campbell
A dozen years later with the Jets in 2021, Johnson replaced yet another future Bengals backup quarterback in Joe Flacco when he took five snaps in the Mike White Halloween upset of the Bengals.
Two months later, Johnson was the Ravens starting quarterback in Paycor Stadium when Joe Burrow threw for a Bengals-record 525 yards.
So Johnson has been around long enough to know when someone's got the goods. When he took that recent phone call from Bengals head coach Zac Taylor in his quest to find backups for Burrow in the post-Jake Browning Era, he knew the Bengals were his next club.
Thirteen years after serving as Andy Dalton's backup who didn't throw a pass for the Bengals' 2013 AFC North champions.
"I could tell he had done his homework on me," Johnson said Saturday after signing a one-year deal. "By doing this long enough, I can kind of tell when a team is just bringing you in, and they say you're a part of the team, but they haven't really done their homework.
"Versus when a coach has really done his homework. We kind of went in-depth about some things. I really appreciated this ability to be known. Just understand what I've gone through and what I've had to overcome. That makes you more comfortable as a player."
Johnson won't turn 40 until May 15, when he ties the record Flacco set last year as the oldest Bengal. The Bengals have continued to express interest in Flacco as the NFL's annual game of quarterback musical chairs begins to slow.
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.
He says what Taylor has going on here is a bit West Coastish and reminds him of his stints with both Grudens. Jay Gruden was his OC here in 2013.
"And some of the stuff I did with Coach (John) Harbaugh, some of the stuff I did with Kyle Shanahan and a little bit of the uniqueness of all those offenses. So the reads and the terminology I've heard before," said Johnson after spending nearly an hour closeted with Bengals quarterbacks coach Brad Kragthorpe.
"It still goes back to the fact that who this team has on here makes it more unique than most other places I've been in the West Coast. I've never been with two top ten receivers before. The dynamic of it is going to be a lot different for me, and I'm looking forward to see it unfold, and how to get better with these guys."
Even in his last games before he turns 40, Johnson seems to have kept his trademark athleticism.
Johnson comes off his second term in Washington, where he went 1-1 in the last two games of the season. In the finale, he threw and ran for a touchdown in Washington's 24-17 victory in Philadelphia, where he accounted for 176 yards that included 45 on the ground on nine carries.
"I live a life of gratitude. When God puts something in front of my face, you have to look at that from a gratitude standpoint," said Johnson, an old friend who has been around long enough to know what being wanted means.
