Former Houston Texans Running Back Retires at the Age of 30

He spent two seasons in Houston, and started a playoff game at running back for the Texans, now he's calling it a career. 30-year-old Duke Johnson is wrapping up his professional football career after 8 seasons in the league.

During his career, Johnson accumulated over 2,200 yards on the ground, and caught over 2,800 yards through the air. He scored 23 combined touchdowns as well. All of this split across 4 different teams.

Originally drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft, Johnson spent the first 4 seasons of his career with the Browns. He started 10 games for them over those 4 years, while playing in a total of 64 games. Acting mostly as the team's "third down back", he caught more than 45 passes in each of his 4 years in Cleveland.

Johnson had signed a three year contract extension with the Browns in 2018 worth $15.16 million. But just over a year later, the Browns traded Johnson to the Houston Texans for a draft pick (it was a conditional fourth round pick that became a third round pick by the 2020 NFL Draft). The Browns had drafted Georgia running back Nick Chubb in the 2018 NFL Draft, making Johnson expendable.

The Texans were happy to bring Johnson in. He would be inserted as the "change of pace" back next to bruising running back Carlos Hyde. Both Hyde and Johnson played in all 16 games in the 2019 season, helping the Texans to the playoffs.

During the 2019 playoffs, Johnson would help the Texans beat the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round with 68 yards on the ground and in the air. Johnson would catch 5 passes against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round, but the Texans would end up losing the game.

The Texans underwent a coaching change during the 2020 season, and moving in a new direction for 2021, Johnson was released from the Texans.

Johnson would be signed by the Miami Dolphins, where he would have some of the most productive games of his career. In the Dolphins' week 14 meeting with the New York Jets, Johnson ran for 107 yards, achieving his first 100 yard rushing game in his career. He added two touchdowns against the Jets as well.

Then in the week 17 game against the New England Patriots, Johnson would run for 117 yards on 25 carries for the Dolphins. This would set a career high for Johnson.

In 2022, Johnson joined the Buffalo Bills for just one game. He had two rushing attempts for just 4 yards, but did pick up a first down for the Bills. These were the last two carries of Johnson's career.