Landon Johnson Landon Tremone Johnson ( born March 13 , 1981 ) is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft . He played college football at Purdue . Johnson has also played for the Carolina Panthers . Early years . Johnson attended Coronado High School in Lubbock , Texas and was a three - time All - District pick , a three time All - City pick , a two time All - League pick , and as a senior , he was the District Defensive M . V . P . . Furthermore , he holds the school career record for tackles ( 401 ) , and he was also an excellent student who graduated with a 4 . 0 grade point average . College career . Johnson played collegiately at Purdue University in West Lafayette , Indiana . He played in 47 games during his career , starting 45 including 10 as a Defensive End . He recorded 345 tackles ( 222 individual ) and 8½ sacks . He was named Honorable Mention All - Big Ten Conference in both 2002 and 2003 , and was named Academic All - Big Ten team for all four years . He graduated in May 2003 with a degree in General Health Science . Professional career . Cincinnati Bengals . After being drafted in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft , Johnson contributed immediately with 11 starts at linebacker while playing in all 16 games . He ended the season as the team ' s leader with 133 tackles , 92 of which came in the last seven games ( over 13 per game ) . He became the third Bengals rookie to earn the tackling title , joining Takeo Spikes and James Francis . He also had six pass deflections , two sacks , a forced fumble and fumble recovery , and nine special teams tackles . His pass break - ups total was tied for the team - high for linebackers . On November 21 , against the Pittsburgh Steelers , Johnson totaled 20 tackles , which was the most in the season for a player and the most for a player in the Marvin Lewis - era of coaching in Cincinnati . In his sophomore season in the league , 2005 , Johnson totaled 87 total tackles on the season while playing all games on the year . Against the Baltimore Ravens , Johnson recorded five tackles and forced a fumble on tight end Todd Heap , which led to a Bengals ' touchdown to put the team up 14 - 3 in the second quarter . In a December victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers , Johnson totaled 11 tackles and forced another fumble . In a December 24 contest with the Buffalo Bills , Johnson set a team - high for the season with 14 tackles . In 2006 , Johnson totaled 113 tackles on the year and also recorded his first career interception . He began the season with 8 tackles in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs . The next game , he totaled five tackles and a fourth quarter interception against the Cleveland Browns , which was his first career interception ever . The following game , Johnson totaled a team - high 12 tackles against the Pittsburgh Steelers . He then had eight tackles in consecutive games : New England and Tampa Bay . He then led the team with 11 tackles against the Baltimore Ravens , followed by a team - high 8 tackles and a forced fumble on Lorenzo Neal against the San Diego Chargers . He then finished up against the New Orleans Saints with 14 tackles , a career - high . In the following shutout against the Browns , Johnson recorded five tackles and a sack that also resulted in a fumble . In the next game against the Ravens , Johnson recorded a team - high 13 tackles . In the December contest against the Indianapolis Colts , Johnson recorded 10 tackles , which was his fifth double - digit tackle game of the season . On the December 31 game against the Steelers , Johnson recorded six tackles and a pass deflection , and also forced a Willie Parker fumble on the one yard - line to stop the Steelers ' score in the fourth quarter . The following season , 2007 , Johnson won his third team tackling title with his career - high 143 tackles . His tackle total was 32 tackles ahead of the closest player , linebacker Dhani Jones . He finished the season leading the team in tackles in five games , while finishing second in another five games and was tied for the team lead with two fumble recoveries . He also had five pass deflections , fourth on the team . Johnson began the first eight games of the season at outside linebacker , but finished the second half of the season at middle linebacker due to other injuries on the team . Johnson began the season with 8 tackles against the Browns and then 7 against the Seahawks . Then against the Kansas City Chiefs , Johnson led the team with 10 tackles and also had a sack of Damon Huard . He was then second with 10 tackles against the Buffalo Bills , then led the team with 11 tackles against the Ravens . After missing most of the Tennessee game due to an injury , Johnson bounced back with consecutive 9 - tackle games against the Steelers then the St . Louis Rams . He also had a third down stop for no gain on Rams ' running back Steven Jackson . In the December victory over Cleveland , Johnson had a tackle on running back Jamal Lewis for no gain on a fourth down situation to add to his total of seven tackles . In the season finale against the Miami Dolphins , Johnson led the team with 11 tackles . Johnson became an unrestricted free agent in the 2008 offseason . Carolina Panthers . On March 7 , 2008 , Johnson signed a three - year contract with the Carolina Panthers . He got injured in the 2008 – 2009 divisional game against Arizona after taking a big hit to the helmet from teammate Jon Beason , after Beason missed a tackle on Cardinals running back J . J . Arrington . Detroit Lions . Johnson signed with the Detroit Lions on March 19 , 2010 . He is now a science teacher at Olympic High School in Charlotte , North Carolina .