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Lions sign quarterback Josh Johnson after injury to Tom Savage

Lions sign quarterback Josh Johnson after injury to Tom Savage

Josh Johnson is 33 years old, has thrown for 836 yards since 2011 and is now in all likelihood the No. 2 quarterback in Detroit.

The Lions announced they signed Johnson to a one-year deal on Saturday morning. The move comes only a few days after quarterback Tom Savage suffered a concussion in Detroit’s preseason opener against the New England Patriots.

Starting quarterback Matthew Stafford was held out of Thursday’s contest.

Savage was knocked out of the game during the second offensive series for the Lions and replaced by David Fales, who did little to impress. The 28-year-old completed just five of 14 passes for 62 yards with one interception.

Enter Johnson, who went 1-2 in three games as a starter for a Washington team that dealt with a barrage of quarterback injuries last season.

There may be some solid reasoning for adding Johnson, however. He previously backed up Savage in Houston in 2017, though he didn’t see any game action. Johnson also previously worked with Lions quarterback coach Sean Ryan, which could help him get up to speed in Detroit.

The team reportedly first worked out Johnson and former Steelers backup Landry Jones on Saturday.

It was more than enough to convince the team he was ready to step in.

In the same announcement, the Lions also added wideout Jermaine Kearse to the Injured Reserve list and activated defensive end Trey Flowers from the Physically Unable to Perform list.

Johnson joins his ninth team since being selected in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He has a career starting record of 1-7 while throwing for a total of 1,632 yards, eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 33 games.

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Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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