The Washington Commanders are saying goodbye to one of their defensive backs. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Commanders are cutting cornerback Danny Johnson after he signed a two-year extension in March.
“I thought Danny stepped in and did exactly what we’d hoped he would do, did the job that we needed him to do,” Ron Rivera said in October. “He came out and played some good football, made some plays, and he’s a very smart football player which you can tell by the opportunity to intercept the ball on fourth down. Instead, he knocks it down and we get it in great field position. I mean, that’s a very heads-up play and those are the kinds of things that Danny’s very capable of.”
Johnson saw much more playing time with Emmanuel Forbes being benched. Despite the defense putting together its best performance of the season with Johnson on the field more, Rivera was non-committal about him continuing to see that much playing time moving forward. “As far as playtime, we’re going to continue to practice and work our guys, and we’re going to play the guys we believe give us the best opportunity to play football,” Rivera said.
After playing in majority of the defensive snaps in Weeks 6 and 7, Johnson saw his playing time decrease in the second half of the season … which has now ultimately led to his release.
The Commanders still have cornerbacks Kendall Fuller, Benjamin St-Juste, Forbes, Christian Holmes and Tariq Castro-Fields on the roster.
