Despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the NFL continues to plug along in anticipation of the 2020 NFL season. Although it is clear at this point that offseason activities will be delayed or cancelled, there has been no formal announcement regarding the upcoming regular season.
For Los Angeles Rams safety John Johnson III, the difficult circumstances have not stopped him from preparing as he is set to return after a shoulder injury during the 2019 NFL season ended his year prematurely. The strong safety was beginning to make a name for himself and is one of the lone holdovers from the defense.
When discussing his future, Johnson said that he is not going to let potential contract extension neogitations distract him and that is solely focused on playing his best football, via Gary Klein of Los Angeles Times:
“I just let my play speak for itself,” he said. “My goal right now is to not let this injury carry over into my contract year.
“I’m just looking at it as redemption, a bounce back. Just go out there and put my best year on tape. … and I think that will take care of itself.”
Entering his fourth year, Johnson will be asked to take more of a leadership role within the secondary after the departure of Eric Weddle. He, along with second-year safety Taylor Rapp, will be counted on to control the backend in new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s defense.
However, there are still several roster positions the team needs to address either via free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft as players like Dante Fowler Jr., Clay Matthews and Nickell Robey-Coleman are no longer on the Rams. Also, even with Johnson and Rapp set to start at the safety spots, Los Angeles could use more depth at the position as solid backup Marqui Christian departed in free agency.
For the time being, Johnson will need to focus on coming back completely healthy, but he will need to find ways to attack rehab as effectively as possible because the Rams training facility has been closed due to the coronavirus situation. Despite that, this does lend itself to more opportunities to study film and learn the new defensive scheme.
With so much uncertainty surrounding the NFL, there is legitimate concern that the 2020 season is in jeopardy and may find the same fate as the other professional sports leagues. Hopefully the crisis is resolved sooner rather than later and fans can go back to enjoying football on the field again.
