David Johnson Retires from NFL After 8 Seasons; Former All-Pro RB Last Played in 2022

Jack MurrayMay 19, 2024

John McCoy/Getty Images

Pro Bowl running back David Johnson’s NFL career has officially come to a close.

Johnson took to Instagram to reflect on his football career and the lessons he learned from playing the sport. He thanked his former teammates and fans for support and acknowledged that he will miss the pro football lifestyle.

Josh Weinfuss @joshweinfussIt looks like former Cardinals running back David Johnson is retiring from football.

From his IG… pic.twitter.com/bskiKTd8Ka

Johnson has not played since the 2022 season. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, the next two with the Houston Texans before a final season with the New Orleans Saints.

Johnson ran for 4,071 yards and 39 touchdowns in his career, while adding 2,805 yards and 18 touchdowns in the passing game. His best season came in 2016, when he had 2,118 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns. Both of those marks led the NFL, and he earned a first-team All-Pro designation and finished third in the Offensive Player of the Year race.

He is also notably for his inclusion in then infamous DeAndre Hopkins trade from 2020. He was the main piece headed back to Houston in the move, but failed to reach the same heights he did in Arizona.

Still, Johnson’s excellence early in his career made him well worth the third-round pick Arizona utilized to select him in 2015 and he can enter retirement with $38.6 million in career earnings.