On Wednesday, long-time Panthers DE Charles Johnson announced that he’s officially retiring from the NFL.
Johnson explained that the back surgery he underwent last year was the beginning of the end of his playing career.
“Once you have back surgery, I don’t care who you are, it’s a beast to get back,” Johnson said. “My body was just… I haven’t worked out since this winter. I tried to get motivated to work out, and my body said, ‘We’re not working out right now.’ It was about that time.”
When asked how he wants to be remembered, Johnson said: “Loyal. Hard-working. A Panther all the way through. The Panthers were all I knew and all I ever wanted to know.”
Johnson, 31, is a former third-round pick of the Panthers back in 2007. He returned to the Panthers last year on a two-year, $8 million contract that included $2.5 million guaranteed.
Johnson was set to make a base salary of $2.25 million for the 2018 season and a $1 million roster bonus when the Panthers released him in a move that freed up $3.25 million of available cap space.
In 2017, Johnson appeared in 12 games for the Panthers and recorded 16 tackles, no sacks and a pass defense.
We had him featured in our Top 50 Available 2018 NFL Free Agents list.
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