Jerrod Johnson to get extended look at quarterback

[phillyesq]

I wonder if the Steelers would go with 2 QBs, keep Johnson on the practice squad, and then release one of Batch or Leftwich. If they needed to carry an extra position player, that might be a way to do it.

I ultimately think that the Steelers will keep the 2 vets unless Johnson really shines.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers Position Battles: QB Jerrod Johnson Won't Play Saturday, Is He Finished?

by Neal Coolong on Aug 24, 2012



With four quarterbacks in camp, and the third preseason game being largely dedicated to those who will either have a helmet on Sundays or are fighting for the chance to get one, QB Jerrod Johnson will likely not see the field when the Steelers take on Buffalo Saturday.

It will likely be handled by starter Ben Roethlisberger and back-up Byron Leftwich, possibly with a late appearance by Charlie Batch.

Does this mean Jerrod Johnson's fate has been sealed? Not necessarily.

Odds were long against him making the 53-man roster as a quarterback in the first place. The Steelers rarely keep a fourth quarterback on the practice squad, simply because there just isn't enough time and reps to get another quarterback any kind of significant work.

But does he have to be on the practice squad as a quarterback?

Post-Gazette reporter Ed Bouchette appeared on Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio Thursday, and floated an interesting proposition. With Johnson's impending release, and intriguing athleticism still apparent, maybe the team would stash him on their practice squad as a tight end or a receiver, give him some work at a different position, thus maintaining his rights for next season, where he could come back again for another shot at a quarterback position.

Granted, unorthodox roster moves and the Pittsburgh Steelers are like oil and water, the main point is keeping a quarterback around the team to get to know and understand the offense. He may not get live snaps as a quarterback, but he can be around the other quarterbacks, the coaches and the rest of the team and absorb how the offense will ideally run.

The alternative is to release him and risk having him get picked up by another team. That doesn't seem very likely, as Bouchette points out to Florio, every year it seems there's a player the Steelers don't want to release because someone else will pick him up. It doesn't seem to happen very often.

Other teams in the league run into the same problem with fourth-string/practice squad quarterbacks simply not being in a position to get reps in practice, and Johnson wouldn't likely sign with the Steelers' practice squad to play a different position, even if it's more or less to better himself as a quarterback in the most realistic way possible at this point in the season.

The reality is, we'll likely see a lot of Johnson in the Steelers final preseason game, showcasing him for other teams to possibly pick him up, and ensuring the three quarterbacks the Steelers will keep won't get hurt.

[URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2012/8/24/3265040/steelers-position-battles-quarterback-jerrod-johnson[/URL]

[RuthlessBurgher]

I wonder if the Steelers would go with 2 QBs, keep Johnson on the practice squad, and then release one of Batch or Leftwich. If they needed to carry an extra position player, that might be a way to do it.

I ultimately think that the Steelers will keep the 2 vets unless Johnson really shines.

I floated this option in another thread somewhere...especially since Mendenhall and Hampton will now be taking up spots on the 53 man roster instead of being stashed on the PUP at the start of the season...we may need to sacrifice a roster spot somewhere...2 active QB's and 1 PS QB may be how we do it.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Post-Gazette reporter Ed Bouchette appeared on Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio Thursday, and floated an interesting proposition. With Johnson's impending release, and intriguing athleticism still apparent, maybe the team would stash him on their practice squad as a tight end or a receiver, give him some work at a different position, thus maintaining his rights for next season, where he could come back again for another shot at a quarterback position.

Granted, unorthodox roster moves and the Pittsburgh Steelers are like oil and water, the main point is keeping a quarterback around the team to get to know and understand the offense. He may not get live snaps as a quarterback, but he can be around the other quarterbacks, the coaches and the rest of the team and absorb how the offense will ideally run.

The alternative is to release him and risk having him get picked up by another team. That doesn't seem very likely, as Bouchette points out to Florio, every year it seems there's a player the Steelers don't want to release because someone else will pick him up. It doesn't seem to happen very often.

This doesn't make sense. In order to get him on the practice squad, you have to release him and risk having him get picked up by another team. And when someone is on the practice squad, other teams can poach those players at any time and put them on their 53 man roster.

[hawaiiansteel]

QB Johnson hoping to hang on with Steelers

Posted: Monday, August 27, 2012
Mike Bires [EMAIL="mbires@timesonline.com"]mbires@timesonline.com[/EMAIL]



Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Jerrod Johnson passes in the fourth quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)

PITTSBURGH – Jerrod Johnson is in no hurry to embark on a career as a gym teacher. He first wants to make a living by throwing a football.

At this stage of the preseason, it’s hard to gauge if Johnson has what it takes to make it long-term in the NFL. But on the bright side, he’s making the most of his chances so far as the Steelers’ fourth-team quarterback.

“Some of the other coaches and I were just talking about Jerrod,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said Monday after practice. “In the preseason games he’s played, he’s obviously played against third-team and fourth-team guys. But among his peers, he’s playing as well as anyone at those points in those games.”

After three preseason games, the Steelers (2-1) have gotten strong performances from all their QBs. They’ve combined for a league-high 116.5 passer rating. The only other team over 100 is the Washington Redskins at 102.1.

Starter Ben Roethlisberger has a 97.5 rating with backup Byron Leftwich at 131.1 and third-stringer Charlie Batch at 95.5.

Johnson, a rookie who holds 24 passing records at Texas A&M, has a team-high rating of 137.5.

“I’m just trying to learn as much as I can from the other guys and get better every day,” said Johnson, who's completed 7 of 11 passes for 158 yards, one touchown and no interceptions in the two games he's played (he didn't play Saturday in Buffalo).

"Every rep I get in practice and every rep I get in a game is huge for me.”

As a Texas A&M junior in 2009, Johnson played so well early in the season that he was mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate. That talk died down, however, when the Aggies cooled off after a 3-0 start and finished 6-7.

Johnson finished that season throwing for 3,579 yards and 30 touchdown passes as well as rushing for 506 yards and eight more TDs. He also set a Big 12 record by throwing 242 straight passes without an interception.

But in the off-season between his junior and senior season, Johnson needed surgery on his right throwing shoulder. He then struggled as a senior, throwing nine interceptions in the A&M’s first five games. By mid-season he was replaced in the starting lineup.

So it came as no surprise that no NFL team took Johnson in the 2011 draft. He then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles but didn’t survive the final cut.

So Johnson spent the entire year out of football. He found work teaching physical education at an elementary school in Dallas. But he never gave up his hope of playing in the NFL.

He got his second chance when the Steelers signed him, and now he’s trying to prove he belongs.

It may be hard for Johnson, a big man at 6-foot-5 and 251 pounds, to make his way onto the opening-day 53-man roster. But he may earn a spot on the practice squad. If the Steelers gamble and open the season with only two QBs – Roethlisberger and Leftwich – and cut Batch, Johnson will make the practice squad.

“All the possible scenarios depend on so many things,” Haley said. “It will all come down to the wire.”

On Thursday when the Steelers play their fourth and final preseason game, Johnson figures to play the entire second half. He’s hoping to play well enough that even if the Steelers cut him Friday, other teams in the league needing QB help will take notice.

Johnson wouldn’t even mind sticking around on the Steelers’ eight-man practice squad.

“When I talked to Coach (Mike) Tomlin and (general manager) Kevin Colbert when they signed me, they respected my story and how I handled my adversity my senior year at A&M,” he said. “I believe my character fits the Steelers’ mold, and on top of that, they hoped I could regain my physical abilities prior to getting hurt.

“They told me ‘If you can show us that, you’ll have an opportunity to make this team.’ I’m thankful for that opportunity.

“Of course, I’d love to make the 53-man roster,” Johnson added. “But at the end of the day, I’d just love to get paid for playing football and living out my dream.”

[URL]http://burgh.us/ftk[/URL]

[steelblood]

I don't get why he can't make the 53 man roster. I like the kid and I'd keep him on the 53. I love his potential.

[aggiebones]

Why again do we need to old veteran backups?

[Chadman]

Starting to think he will make the roster. Time seems right to add a young QB. Added to that, Batch isn't likely to garner much interest elsewhere (MAYBe the Colts if Arians wants someone he's worked with before).

[NorthCoast]

Why again do we need to old veteran backups?

Maybe one,... but certainly not two old veteran backups. Batch or Leftwich needs to make way for the new kid. He has more than proved he deserves a spot.

[hawaiiansteel]

Maybe one,... but certainly not two old veteran backups. Batch or Leftwich needs to make way for the new kid. He has more than proved he deserves a spot.

it should be Batch then who should get cut because Leftwich looked really good last game.