CARD: Score 2009 Gold Zone Certified ACQUIRED: eBay, 2025 FAILURE: TTM 2020, C/o Home
CAREER SNAPSHOT:
After honing his skills at RB in Junior College at Butler CC in 1998 and 1999, Rudi played in 2000 at Auburn.
He blew the barn doors off the SEC rushing a conference leading 324 times for 1567 yards (and 13 TDs).
A surprising 4th round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2001.
Rode the bench primarily his first few seasons behind incumbent RB Corey Dillon.
Rudi stepped up after Dillon got injured in 2003 and never looked back.
Rushed for a career high 43 times for 182 yards and 2 TDs against the Texans that year.
Dillon was traded to the Patriots before the 2003 season clearing the way for Rudi to start in 2004.
He’d rush for 1454 yards on a career high 361 carries and 12 TDs.
Then in 2005, Johnson had a career high 1458 yards on 337 carries, again scoring 12 TDs.
And to finish the trifecta in 2006, Rudi ran 341 times for 1309 yards and another 12 TDs.
The 1000+ carries Rudi had over the last 3 seasons finally caught up to him, as in 2007 he spent 5 games on the bench due to injury.
Unable to find a trading partner, Rudi was cut at the end of camp by the Bengals who were making way for new blood at RB.
Rudi signed with and played his final season with the Detroit Lions running for 237 yards and a TD in 2008.
Johnson lived a private life and was involved in the community through his foundation post football, however he struggled mightily with the weight of mental health.
ACCOLADES:
Chesterfield County Sports Hall of Fame
Pro Bowl 2004
NJCAA Hall of Fame
NOTES:
A punishing runner who never shied from a hit, I’ve always wanted Rudi’s autograph on a card, and even though he’s most fondly remembered as a Bengal, I’ll take a certified on a set need from the Lions.
EPITAPH:
9/23/25- Rudi Johnson ended his life tragically at his own hands at the age of 45. He struggled with mental health after his playing career ended and it has been suggested that he was suffering from CTE.
In his final message to his fans via Youtube, Rudi encouraged everyone to, “Never give up.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health please contact the Nation Mental Health Hotline at 1-866-903-3737.
Over that time there he bulked up to 6’5″, 308, and became a darling at the combine, recording impressive and quick numbers for a big man.
He’d be selected number 2 overall by the St. Louis Rams in 2009, and was slated immediately in to start seeing action at both tackle positions.
Quietly he’d be beaten out in camp in 2010.
Traded to the Jets in 2012 in exchange for T Wayne Hunter.
Signed with the Saints in 2013 but did not make the squad.
Rejoined the Jets but was released a week later, effectively ending his playing career.
Jason has transitioned into coaching where he’s worked at North Texas and Abilene Christian.
NOTES:
I like this era of football cards and the subsets Dress for Success and Freshman Orientation were really great looking cards. It was nice to find these patch certified autographs at such a bargain.
After two years at Chabot college in California, Stevie Johnson headed for Kentucky to play WR in 2006.
In his Senior campaign, he had 60 catches for 1041 yards and 13 TDs.
Both his yards and receiving TDs led the SEC.
Selected in the 7th round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
Caught first TD from JP Losman against the Jets late in his rookie year.
Sidelined for most of 2009 with a rib injury.
Burst onto the scene in 2010 with 82 catches for 1073 yards and 10 TDs.
Followed that up in 2011 with 76 catches for 1004 yards and 7 TDs, playing much of the season injured.
Another solid campaign followed in ’12 with 79 catches for 1046 yards and 6 TDs.
First receiver in franchise history to record 3 back to back to back 1,000+ yard seasons.
As the team struggled with a change in QB to EJ Manuel, Stevie’s numbers slipped.
Traded to the 49ers in 2014 and caught 35 passes for 435 yards and 3 TDs.
Signed with Chargers in ’15, but battled with injuries throughout the remainder of his playing career and was released in early 2017.
Is a big fan of Buffalo and has returned to his roots in the community.
Owns the trademark to the Buffalo Destroyers arena football team and is trying to revive the brand.
NOTES:
Probably the only time you’ll see ‘surrogate’ instead of ‘home’ or ‘work’ on my returns, because some sleuths figured out that Stevie’s mail was going to a different address owned by a different guy. Well the people on sportscollectors.net got suspicious and I figured I’d get to the bottom of it. So I reached out to both the surrogate and Stevie to figure out if this was legit or not.
Turns out that the surrogate is one of Stevie’s close friends going back to high school. He explained that Stevie wanted to sign autographs for fans TTM but didn’t want to give out his home or foundation’s address- which I totally understand.
The surrogate did a great job keeping me abreast of where the cards where when I sent them to him, and that Stevie would be a bit delayed since he was on vacation. I further verified this to make sure. Frankly, if someone went to this much trouble to fake this, he could just take my money and be done with it. Still it was one of my more odder TTM situations but who cares? It all worked out in the end.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
