The Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles have engineered a trade, sending cornerback D.J. Johnson to Indy in exchange for defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu.
Johnson is 6-foot-1 and 191 pounds out of Jackson State, where he was named the Defensive MVP of the 2007 SWAC Championship game. In that contest, he returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown in the 42-31 victory over Grambling. After leading his team in 2008 with four interceptions and leading the conference in pass breakups (13) and passes defended, Johnson was named first team All-SWAC.
He signed with the Denver Broncos in 2009 as an undrafted free agent and has since spent time with the New York Giants, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Washington Redskins, and the Eagles. He has recorded a total of 10 tackles in 10 NFL games in his career--all of which were with the Giants. He spent the 2011 season on the Eagles' practice squad.
Ogbu is 6-foot-1 and 283 pounds out of Penn State, where he was an honorable mention All-Big 10 selection. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He spent all of last season on the Colts' practice squad.
The Colts don't mention anything in their press release about any draft picks being involved in the trade, so it appears to be Johnson for Ogbu, straight up. The trade will be finalized once both athletes pass their physicals.
Indianapolis signed defensive tackle Jason Shirley earlier in the week to give them a total of four DTs on their roster, so they're back down to three now. Johnson is the 11th cornerback on the roster as the Colts head into training camp next week, and he'll be among the largest of the CB crew.
What Johnson has to offer the Colts is important: game experience. Indy has, for the most part, a very young and inexperienced defensive backfield, so even just 10 games' worth of experience is beneficial to the team.
Remember, too, that Colts general manager Ryan Grigson came from the Eagles, which leads me to believe that he knows a little something about what Johnson can do on the field. That, in and of itself, intrigues me.
Colts fans will be able to see what Johnson can do, too, when the Colts open training camp on July 29.
The author is a resident of central Indiana and a longtime fan of the Colts. He is also a Featured Contributor in Sports for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. You can follow him on Twitter at @RedZoneWriting and on Facebook.
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