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Former Super Bowl Winner found dead at age 50

Former NFL wide receiver Charles Johnson played nine seasons in the NFL, arriving at the NFL as a first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1994. He was the starting wide receiver for the Steelers. Johnson, a first-round draft pick in 1994, spent five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers before joining the Eagles in 1999. Former NFL wide receiver Charles Johnson spent nine seasons in the NFL with four teams after being selected by the Steelers 17th overall out of Colorado in 1994.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected the perennially productive wide receiver 17th out of Colorado in 1994. Johnson also played for Philadelphia, New England, and Buffalo before retiring in 2002. Johnson played five seasons for the Steelers, catching 247 passes for 3,400 yards and 15 touchdowns. All told, Johnson played nine seasons in the NFL and caught 354 passes for 4,606 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns.

Johnson led the Eagles in receiving yards in 1999 and was second on the team behind Chad Lewis in 2000. Charles Johnson would go on to have two more seasons with the Eagles, hauling seven touchdowns with the 2000 squad, tying his career high. Charles Johnson totalled a then-career-high 1,008 receiving yards in the 1996 season, which ranks sixteenth on the Steeler’s all-time list for receiving yards. Former NFL star Charles Johnson lead the Philadelphia Eagles in receiving yards for 1999, providing valuable targets for an inexperienced Donovan McNabb.

Former NFL wide receiver Charles Johnson also caught two passes during the New England Patriots’ victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2001 AFC Championship Game. Former NFL star Charles Johnson enjoyed nine seasons in the NFL and won the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots in 2001. Johnson, a former first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, most recently worked as an assistant athletic director at Legacy High School in Wake Forest.

Johnson’s death was announced by the university on Wednesday from Heritage High School, where he was an assistant athletic director at Wake Forest. According to WNCN-TV in Raleigh, police discovered a corpse in a hotel room Sunday during a welfare check at a Hampton Inn and Suites, and a preliminary investigation revealed no evidence of foul play.

Colorado head coach Karl Dorrell, who coached Johnson’s receivers in 1992 and 1993, issued the following statement on Wednesday: “When I heard the news about CJ, I was astonished and devastated.” He was an excellent teammate with a contagious charisma. He carried the Buffaloes’ pride and tradition on his sleeve. One of the finest WR competitors I’ve ever taught. CJ, may you rest in peace.”