The Denver Broncos could see a familiar face across the way when they face the Las Vegas Raiders in 2026, with former Bronco and veteran wide receiver Brandon Johnson signing with the Raiders on Wednesday.
“We have signed WR Brandon Johnson,” the Raiders wrote on their official X account. “In a corresponding move, we have placed WR Corey Rucker on the Reserve/Injured list.”
Johnson reunites with former Broncos wide receiver Zach Azzanni for the 3rd time in his career on the Raiders after playing for Azzani in Denver and again with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In 2022, Johnson made the Broncos roster as an undrafted free agent out of UCF and spent the 1st 2 seasons of his NFL career in Denver, then returned for a stint on the practice squad in January 2026.
Johnson had his best NFL season to date with the Broncos in 2023, when he had 19 receptions for 284 yards and 4 touchdowns in 13 games.
Johnson’s Path to the NFL: Sheer Determination
The fact that Johnson, 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, has ever played in an NFL game, much less lasted 4 seasons, speaks almost to the sheer power of will.
In 6 college football seasons — 5 at Tennessee and 1 at UCF — Johnson rarely stood out. His best season at Tennessee was 37 receptions for 281 yards and 1 touchdown in 2017.
In his final college season, at UCF in 2022, Johnson did put up career numbers across the board with 38 receptions for 565 yards and a whopping 11 touchdowns.
Johnson failed to turn heads at UCF’s Pro Day, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds, which is less than ideal speed for an NFL wide receiver.
After spending 2 seasons with the Broncos, Johnson has had 3 separate stints with the Steelers, along with a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025.
Decades of Miserable Football for Raiders & Fans
Few groups of NFL fans have faced the slough that Raiders fans have gone through over the last 2-plus decades.
The Raiders haven’t won the AFC West Division title since 2002, when they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, and have just 2 winning seasons in the last 24 years. Both of those years, the Raiders lost in the AFC Wild Card Round — in 2016 and in 2021.
They’ve never been worse than they have the last 2 seasons, going 4-13 in 2024 and 3-14 in 2025. Things don’t look like they’re going to be any easier in 2026 with 3 legitimate AFC and Super Bowl contenders looking down on them: the Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Broncos, who went 14-3 and were the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs in 2026.
All might not be lost, however, and there could be help on the way.
In 2026, for the 3rd time in franchise history, the Raiders held the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. For the 3rd time, the Raiders used that pick on a quarterback, selecting Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza in 2026, following LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell in 2007 and North Carolina State quarterback Roman Gabriel in 1962, when the Raiders were still in the AFL.
“(Mendoza) is still young with football to learn and adversity to face, but his character, competitiveness and rapid ascension make it easier to project he will be a very good starter within his first three seasons,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft evaluation.
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