Dontae Johnson

BIOGRAPHY

Dontae Johnson was born on December 1st, 1991 in Plainfield, New Jersey. He is a cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL. 

Johnson went to The Pennington School for high school. Hauling in 50 passes for 600 yards and 13 touchdowns is an impressive stat-line for a two-way player, which is exactly what Johnson was in high school. He split time as a receiver and defensive back during his time at Pennington Prep (NJ) High School. He was selected to the New Jersey all-prep first-team. He had 108 tackles, six interceptions along with three forced fumbles in his senior season. He also played AAU basketball in high school.

Coming out of NC State, Johnson was projected by some NFL draft experts to be a third or fourth round pick, while others projected him to be selected in the fifth or sixth round. During his junior season, Johnson was selected ACC Defensive Back of the Week for his performance against Wake Forest. He was invited to the 2014 Senior Bowl as a member of the North team.

When he got the call that he was being drafted by the 49ers, San Francisco’s 2014 first-round draft pick DB Jimmie Ward was one of the first phone calls that he received to congratulate him and tell him how excited he was that the two were going to be teammates. Ward and Johnson were roommates at the 2014 Senior Bowl.

The San Francisco 49ers selected Johnson in the fourth round (129th overall) of the 2014 NFL Draft. He was the 16th cornerback selected in the draft.

He made his professional regular season debut in the San Francisco 49ers' season-opener at the Dallas Cowboys and recorded two solo tackles and two pass deflections in their 28–17 victory. Johnson made a tackle, a pass deflection, and made his first career interception after picking off a pass attempt by Austin Davis and returning it for a 20-yard touchdown during a 31–17 win over the St. Louis Rams. He finished his rookie season with 34 combined tackles (26 solo), six pass deflections, an interception, and a touchdown in three starts and 16 games. The 49ers fired Harbaugh after they finished with an 8-8 season in 2014.

On April 11, 2018, Johnson signed with the Seattle Seahawks. On September 27, the Seahawks released Johnson from injured reserve. On October 2, 2018, Johnson signed with the Buffalo Bills. He was released on October 30, 2018. On November 27, 2018, Johnson signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He was released on December 18, 2018. On February 22, 2019, Johnson was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs. He was released on May 20, 2019. On May 28, 2019, Johnson was signed by the San Francisco 49ers. On August 19, 2019, Johnson caught an interception in a preseason game. He was released during final roster cuts on August 30, 2019. On September 11, 2019, Johnson was signed by the Los Angeles Chargers. He was released on September 28, 2019. On October 3, 2019, Johnson was signed by the San Francisco 49ers.[36] He was released on November 11.[37] He was re-signed on December 11, 2019.[38] Johnson and the 49ers reached Super Bowl LIV, but lost 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

On April 13, 2020, Johnson re-signed with the 49ers. He was released on September 5, 2020, and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was elevated to the active roster on September 12 for the team's week 1 game against the Arizona Cardinals and reverted to the practice squad on September 14. He was promoted to the active roster on September 16, 2020. In Week 17 against the Seattle Seahawks, Johnson recorded his first career sack on Russell Wilson during the 26–23 loss. On March 19, 2021, Johnson re-signed with the 49ers.