Chattanooga native Patrick Johnson’s road to Santa Clara, California, for Super Bowl LX has been a wild one, though not a particularly long one.
The first step didn’t even come until the 28-year-old outside linebacker’s fifth NFL season was seemingly over.
The Notre Dame High School alumnus received a phone call from his agent, Martin Fischman, at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 28. It was 17 days after the Philadelphia Eagles, whose practice squad included Johnson, had lost in the opening round of the NFC playoffs, ending their bid to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
After his phone call with Fischman, Johnson headed to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to join another practice squad, this one for the New England Patriots — who had just won the AFC championship game to secure the storied franchise’s 12th Super Bowl trip of all time and a shot at a seventh Lombardi Trophy, which would break the record they currently share with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Patriots (17-3) will face the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks (16-3) at Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium on Sunday (6:30 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock), and the 60th edition of the NFL’s big game is another one in which Johnson will be involved in some way.