Matt Johnson is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.
Education
He attended Tumwater High School where he practiced football, basketball and baseball. At Eastern Washington University, he finished fifth in school history and eighth in the Big Sky Conference in career tackles (341), second on the school’s career list for interceptions (17) and return yards (210).
Career
He played college football for Eastern Washington University. In football he received all-league honors three years in a row. As a senior he helped his team reach the Class 2A state semifinals, in addition to being named second-team all-Evergreen, after missing five games because of a high ankle sprain.
Pro Day
Dallas Cowboys
Johnson was drafted in the fourth round (135th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys, which at the time was seen as a reach by the media.
As a rookie, he was ineligible to participate in organized team activities until Eastern Washington"s classes ended. After experiencing recurring hamstring issues during preseason, the team still kept him in the active roster, but after not being able to recover and play in any game during the regular season, he was placed on the injured reserve list on November November 17, 2012.
Coming into 2013, there were high expectations that he could earn the starting free safety position, but he was placed on the injured reserve list on August 31, 2013, with a sprained left foot that he suffered in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. After battling hamstring issues during the previous years, on July 29, 2014, he suffered a hamstring injury in training camp that kept him out of the preseason.
On August 27, he was waived injured and was placed on the injured reserve list, before being released with an injury settlement on September 3.
The Cowboys were very patient with Johnson because they believed in his talent, but he couldn"t stay healthy, playing in only two preseason games in two seasons. He announced his retirement on February 27, 2015.