{"id":37197,"date":"2025-07-31T15:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T15:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/37197\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T15:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T15:54:08","slug":"johnson-and-johnson-ageless-defensive-tackle-celebrates-two-sack-gem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/37197\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson and Johnson: Ageless defensive tackle celebrates two-sack gem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Micah Johnson<\/a> completed a two-sack performance to secure two points for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.<\/p>\n

The Edmonton Elks\u2019 last hope was extinguished on Friday night when Johnson toppled quarterback Cody Fajardo as the final seconds ticked away at Mosaic Stadium.<\/p>\n

Johnson proceeded to simultaneously celebrate a sack and the Roughriders\u2019 CFL-leading sixth victory in seven games this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might be my first one like that \u2014 a game-winning sack at the end,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll have to check up on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It might also be necessary to check Johnson\u2019s birth certificate to verify that he is, in fact, 37.<\/p>\n

Birthdate: June 22, 1988.<\/p>\n

Yup \u2026 37.<\/p>\n

Remarkable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still a force,\u201d marvelled Head Coach Corey Mace, who once lined up alongside Johnson as a fellow defensive tackle with the Calgary Stampeders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know he gives fits to a lot of offensive linemen around the league. He\u2019s been doing it a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson made his Canadian professional football debut with Calgary in 2013. After earning All-CFL honours for three consecutive seasons, he signed with Saskatchewan as a free agent in 2019.<\/p>\n

He has subsequently spent all but one year with the Roughriders, in whose employ he received his fourth career All-CFL nod (in 2024).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always want to credit the older guys in the league who have been able to do it at a high standard for so long, because the tape has been out,\u201d Mace said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s not much that you don\u2019t know about them. When they know what\u2019s coming and they can still get the job done, those are special players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Especially when you consider that the average length of a pro football career is in the three-year range.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never really see yourself playing for that long until it\u2019s kind of happening,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s still happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former University of Kentucky Wildcats star linebacker, who moved to the defensive line when he joined the Stampeders, is now in his 12th CFL season.<\/p>\n

It would be Year 13 if not for a global pandemic that wiped out the 2020 campaign.<\/p>\n

Factor in the NFL, where Johnson had stints with five teams over four seasons, and pro football has been part of his life since 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a blessing,\u201d he said with a smile. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things I talk to God about. He\u2019s still blessing me to come out here and still play.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I tell people year after year, I feel good. It\u2019s like I\u2019m waiting to come out here and not feel good anymore, but it hasn\u2019t happened yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

The secret?<\/p>\n

\u201cI work hard,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI work in the off-season. Every off-season is all about football and training. I take care of my body during the week. I work out multiple times during the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things where I\u2019ve been all about football since I started playing and since I came to the CFL. I think it\u2019s one of those things that pays off. It\u2019ll probably backfire at some point, but it\u2019s football first for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saskatchewan is first in the league in sacks, with 20, heading into Saturday\u2019s game against the host Montreal Alouettes.<\/p>\n

The road trips can be long but, as is the case with Johnson himself, the grind never gets old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still get the itch to come out here and compete,\u201d he said. \u201cI still want to be the best D-tackle in the league, year in, year out.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, that fire is still there. It\u2019s just about competing. We\u2019re just out here trying to be the best interior D-linemen, year in and year out.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that in mind, Johnson \u201clifts his tail off\u201d in the weight room, according to Mace. Of course, there are other factors at play.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweatpants and keeping his legs warm throughout the week,\u201d Mace said with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s always asking questions about ways he can win and understanding the concept of the defence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s trying to open up things for other people and open up things for himself and choosing his spots. There\u2019s pre-snap ID stuff and understanding the protections he may get.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that, it\u2019s just time, and he\u2019s had plenty of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Micah Johnson completed a two-sack performance to secure two points for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Edmonton Elks\u2019 last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-37197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}