ARLINGTON, Texas -- When you've signed contracts with eight teams in four leagues, no opportunity is too insignificant to take. So when the Dallas Cowboys offered quarterback Jerrod Johnson a contract -- even if he was probably only going to be on the team less than 48 hours -- he quickly accepted the offer.
"In this league you never know what can happen," Johnson said, "and I'm not in a situation where I can do whatever. It was an opportunity to play football so I jumped on it. Whatever happens from here happens."
He did make $1,800 for about 10 hours of work, which is pretty good work if you can get it. Johnson was cut by the Cowboys on Saturday.
Johnson, released by the Baltimore Ravens earlier this week, had just returned to his home in Houston when the Cowboys called. He took an American Airlines flight to Dallas and arrived at 1 p.m. Friday. He spent the rest of the afternoon with quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson learning offensive formations and concepts.
"It was a whirlwind," Johnson said. "I tried to study as much as I could before game time. In case I had to play. For me, it's formations first, so you know where guys are lined up. Then it's protections to make sure you give yourself a chance to get the ball out of your hand. The concepts are the easiest for me because I have a pretty good understanding of reads."
The Cowboys signed Johnson because Tony Romo is hurt and Dak Prescott is expected to start the opener against the New York Giants, so he wasn't going to play against the Houston Texans in the final preseason game. That left Jameill Showers as the only quarterback on the roster. Cole Beasley is the Cowboys' emergency quarterback, but they obviously didn't want him playing.
Johnson, a former Texas A&M star, has been with the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Ravens and Cowboys in the NFL. He's played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League and the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League.
At 28, Johnson's desire to play in the NFL remains strong. His father coached football for years and his brother, Marquis, is a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Tennessee, so football has been part of his life forever. Whenever Johnson's journey to the NFL ends, he wants to coach college or pro football.
"It's all I've ever known. I grew up playing it and loving it. It's my first love," Johnson said. "I'm going to keep playing as long as I can. I have a lot of confidence in my abilities and I've had a lot happen to me over the years. I have faith in myself and with the right opportunity I can have some success.
"A lot of it is the respect factor. You want to be respected for what you put your life's work into. I'm honestly chasing respect at this point and whenever there's an opportunity to keep playing, I'm going to take it."