IRVINE — Just as they started out together in Los Angeles in 2017, Sean McVay and John Johnson III walked out onto the practice field together for practice Tuesday.
It was Johnson’s first workout with the Rams since leaving as a free agent in 2021 and signing with the team Monday. A lot changed during Johnson’s stint in Cleveland – a Super Bowl championship, a roster overhaul – but he was excited to be back in familiar colors, with a few familiar faces still around.
“Ever since I left, it’s been a thing floating up in the air, like, ‘Should I have left?’” Johnson said. “I knew in my heart where I wanted to be, so I’m glad we got it done.”
When Johnson left the Rams in the spring of 2021, he was one of the most coveted safeties on the market. L.A. couldn’t afford the three-year, $36 million deal the Browns gave him.
Despite starting 29 games in two years for Cleveland, Johnson never quite reached his Rams production, and the Browns cut him following the 2022 season. He was left unsigned through the offseason, watching as teams began OTAs and minicamps.
“I didn’t meet my expectations. Obviously, I didn’t meet the other organization’s expectations,” Johnson, 27, said. “So it puts a chip on my shoulder. You want to go out there and show you can still go. I’m young. I feel like I’m in my prime. I just need a place and an opportunity to do it.”
If there’s a silver lining to the situation, it’s that the new opportunity is coming back with the Rams. Johnson attended practice Sunday, just to be sure this was the right scenario, but knew before he arrived that he would be signing with his former team.
“This place is very different, it’s unique. It’s a great place to be,” Johnson said. “Just the people, from top to bottom, it’s where you want to be.”
The Rams needed Johnson, too. He becomes the third player on the defense with more than four years of NFL experience and shores up a particularly inexperienced defensive backfield.
When Johnson arrived at practice Sunday, defensive tackle Aaron Donald did not believe he would be returning to the team. So when Johnson was in uniform Tuesday, he got a bear hug from Donald.
“[He] was a foundational piece,” McVay said. “To be able to get a guy that’s familiar with the culture, has played a lot of really good football … we felt like it was a chance to be able to upgrade our secondary, upgrade the depth of our safety room.”
Having played in this defensive system before, Johnson has a sense of familiarity. But with a new coordinator in Raheem Morris, some terminology has changed that Johnson has to catch up on.
He was in coaches’ ears Tuesday, asking questions and checking play calls as he watched seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 from the sidelines. He spent some of the scrimmage time off to the side, running sprints and cone drills as he tries to build up his endurance.
“I have a sense of urgency like no other. I feel like I am behind,” Johnson said. “These guys have been here for months.”
But he does know the Rams’ culture under McVay, and what the head coach hopes to accomplish with this new, young roster. When they spoke on the phone leading up to his signing, McVay relayed that he expected this season to be similar to when the two first arrived in Los Angeles together six years ago.
“It feels like 2017. Refresh, regroup and he will want me to help lead the way on that,” Johnson said. “I think that’s part of the reason why I’m here, just lead by example.”