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PACKERS SIGN FREE AGENTS DOUG KARCZEWSKI, KEVIN JOHNSON
posted 02/01/00
Two free agents - offensive guard/tackle Doug Karczewski and linebacker Kevin Johnson - have been signed to the Green Bay Packers' roster, Executive Vice President/General Manager Ron Wolf announced today.
Karczewski (pronounced CAR-ZOO-ski), who turns 25 this Sunday, spent the second half of the 1999 season on Green Bay's practice squad after joining the team in that capacity November 2. Upon the end of the Packers' most recent season, his contract expired and he became a free agent.
Originally a fifth-round draft choice of the Jets in 1998 out of the University of Virginia, he was on New York's active roster for two games that year, but did not see any action. After returning to the Jets' training camp this past season, Karczewski was released on the cut to 60 players (August 31). Subsequently signed to the practice squad of Denver September 7, he was terminated by the Broncos on October 26.
Karczewski, 6-4, 290 pounds, had been a co-captain as a 1997 senior at Virginia, protecting the blind side of future Green Bay quarterback Aaron Brooks, who led the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing.
Johnson, 26, played the 1999 season for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He saw action in all 18 of the Stampeders' regular-season games, and recorded 68 tackles, including 3 sacks and 1 other for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception, 2 passes defensed and 5 special teams stops. The 6-foot, 225-pound Johnson also played in both of Calgary's playoff contests, contributing 3 tackles on kick coverage in the west final vs. the B.C. Lions.
A two-year starter at Ohio State (1995, 1997) after beginning his collegiate career at Northeast Oklahoma A&M, Johnson finished with 146 tackles (86 solo) for the Buckeyes, including 15 for loss and 2 sacks, plus 1 interception. He was the school's third-leading tackler in 1997 with 81 total stops after ranking fourth with 65 in '95.
The 1996 season saw him redshirt following the rapid development of Andy Katzenmoyer, which allowed Greg Bellisari to move outside and temporarily put his career on hold.
Signed by the Atlanta Falcons April 27, 1998, as an undrafted free agent, he was released by that club less than two months later (June 8).
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