Austin Johnson joins Buffalo Bills thanks to ‘best recruiter’ out there (5 things to know)

The Buffalo Bills made another addition to their roster on Saturday signing Austin Johnson to a one-year deal.

The defensive tackle joins the Bills following stints with the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers. Johnson stands in at 6-feet-4-inches tall and about 315 pounds which makes him a likely candidate to play at 1-tech behind DaQuan Jones, a player he knows extremely well.

After joining the team, here is what Bills fans need to know about Johnson.

Didn’t enjoy football until high school

DaQuan Jones was recruited to play football by one of his father’s friends. Johnson, at the time, was a swimmer, but gave football a shot. In his own words, Johnson did not enjoy football out of the gate.

“The first two years I played it, I hated it,” Johnson said in a video for the Tennessee Titans. “Then I got to high school and that’s when I fell in love with it.”

Johnson added that one specific play made him fall in love with the game.

“I remember the play my sophomore year and I was starting,” Johnson said. “I’m on the opposite side of the ball and the quarterback is running out and he’s scrambling. And I’m just running across the field and I hit him and I’m going out of bounds and everyone’s cheering. And I’m like, I could get used to this.”

Reunited with DaQuan Jones for third time

In the same video with the Titans, Johnson said DaQuan Jones was one of the players he looked up to most. Johnson played one season with Jones at Penn State and spent multiple seasons with Jones on the Titans. This will be their third stint together and a big reason why they have reunited is due to Jones recruiting him to Buffalo. In his Instagram story, Johnson credited Jones for getting him to join the Bills.

“And yes DaQuan Jones is the best recruiter out,” Johnson wrote.

Former second round pick

Johnson’s production increased every season at Penn State. The defensive tackle had nine tackles for loss in his first two seasons with the Nittany Lions and added 15 more in his final season at Penn State. He also had a career-high 6.5 sacks that season.

Johnson’s production led to him getting selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft (No. 43 overall).

Wife played and coached football

Johnson wasn’t the only person to play football professionally in his household. His wife, Danika, played in the Legends Football League. She later went on to become a head coach in the league.

Via Chargers.com:

Johnson’s wife, Danika, played for the Seattle Mist and the Las Vegas Sin in the Legends Football League. After her playing career as a middle linebacker and tight end, she went on to be the head coach for the Nashville Knights, making her the first ever female head coach of the Legends Football League. Danika was a Hall of Fame Inductee in 2019.

Adds plenty of experience to Bills DL

Johnson has played in 116 career games while making 55 starts with the Titans, Giants and Chargers. Over the past three seasons, Johnson has started in 42 games. That total would have been higher had Johnson not suffered a knee injury in 2022 that landed him on the injured reserve.