The Detroit Lions are good at quarterback with Jared Goff. But before Goff’s arrival in 2021? Things were a little more fluid.
The Lions have a list of quarterbacks that could almost make a Cleveland Browns fan blush. Names like Scott Mitchell, Charlie Batch, and Joey Harrington are distant memories thanks to Detroit’s recent success but it was a carousel that only a Madden player could love with names such as Stoney Case, Ty Detmer, and Mike McMahon.
Thankfully, the carousel stopped spinning when the Lions selected Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick in the 2009 draft and gave way to Goff in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams. But while Goff is the quarterback of the present, the ghosts of the Lions’ past remain, leading to one signal-caller signing with his sixth different NFL team since he left Detroit in 2019.
Former Lions QB Josh Johnson Signs With Commanders
The Washington Commanders announced on Friday that they have agreed to terms with quarterback Josh Johnson. Johnson has played for 14 different teams since being selected in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft out of San Diego. He has also played for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League, the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football, and the XFL’s Los Angeles Wildcats during his career.
We have signed QB Josh Johnson pic.twitter.com/yIjwh9Kc9W
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) April 11, 2025
Johnson has played for so many teams that he has his own commercial poking fun at his journey. But Lions fans may not remember Johnson from his one season in Detroit that ended after two games when Jeff Driskel was signed in September of 2019.
Regardless, Johnson has found a way to hover around the league as he enters his age-39 season. He appeared in six games with the Baltimore Ravens as Lamar Jackson’s backup last season, completing 2-of-3 passes for 17 yards in garbage time, and will now have the chance to back up Jayden Daniels in Washington.
It’s a carousel that has mimicked the path the Lions took to where they are now. But they can rest easy knowing that they have a solution at quarterback for now and the future.