Cardinals' Chris Johnson saved by 6 inches and a text

Six inches.

It’s what Chris Johnson always could gain in his sleep when he needed to get you a first down.

It’s also what literally saved his life in the early morning hours this past March 9 as he and two buddies riding in a Jeep were stopped at a red light in Orlando, Fla.

If it wasn’t for an incredibly, perfectly timed text message he received at that precise moment on that fateful night, Johnson is convinced he not only wouldn’t be starting at running back Sunday for the Cardinals against the visiting St. Louis Rams, but that he would be dead.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Johnson told azcentral sports, cupping his cell phone in both hands and bending down while sitting in his locker to replicate exactly what happened. “I was texting like this on my phone.”

So how did the text message save his life?

“Because if I wasn’t like this,” Johnson said, bending over again and then pointing at the right side of his neck with his right index finger, “it would have hit me right here.”

It was a bullet and there were multiple shots fired during a drive-by shooting into the Jeep in which Johnson was riding late that night. One, sadly, struck and killed the driver of the vehicle. Chris Johnson was shot in the back of his right shoulder. A third passenger was wounded in the shoulder, hand and leg.

As he recovered in a hospital bed and later, in his own home, Johnson contemplated what could have been and how he needed to make a change to his life. He wasn’t sure if he would play football again, but he knew things would have to be different.

“I don’t think something like that will ever go away,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I used it for motivation. But I think it taught me how to live different – not going to certain places and not being in certain places. Knowing I got two kids and they need me here, it definitely helped me be smarter.

“It made me understand what stuff I can do and what stuff I can’t do, what places I should be at and what places I shouldn’t be at.”

The Cardinals needed a running back during training camp when hamstring injuries prevented Andre Ellington and rookie David Johnson from practicing. Chris Johnson, having been released by the Jets, had been working out for only a few weeks when Arizona called and brought him in for a physical.

Nobody else seemed interested.

“There was a lot of stuff going on with me,” said Johnson, who turned 30 last week. “A lot of teams thought I had a lot of character issues and then just a lot of stuff with me as far as the shooting and stuff like that. I’m pretty sure it scared a lot of teams off. Just now when I look at it, I get it. I think everything happens for a reason and that helped me land here.”

So far, it’s been a win-win situation for Johnson and the 3-0 Cardinals.

“It was huge. … He just fell into our lap,” receiver Larry Fitzgerald said.

With Ellington sidelined with a knee injury, Johnson has rushed for 182 yards the past two weeks, including a 110-yard performance with two rushing touchdowns last Sunday in a 47-7 rout of the 49ers. Ellington will be a game-time decision against the Rams this Sunday, coach Bruce Arians said, adding Johnson will handle the bulk of the carries regardless.

“As the weeks have progressed, he’s gotten better and better and his confidence level is going up,” Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin said. “I think coming from the Jets, in his mind, he’s getting a fair shake now. He’s getting the ball and you can see the electricity and the things that happen in the stadium when he has the ball.”

Rams coach Jeff Fisher said he can see many of the same qualities in Johnson today as he used to see regularly when he coached Johnson with the Tennessee Titans from 2008-13.

“He changes angles on defense because of his speed,” Fisher said. “So the defense, they’ll get in their routine and pursue the ball and go to the ball as fast as they can (but) he flattens the angles out because he’s got such tremendous acceleration and speed.”

Johnson’s tenure in Tennessee ended on a sour note. Despite rushing for at least 1,000 yards in each of his six seasons, including 2,006 yards in 2009, the Titans seemed to grow weary of him. He staged a holdout while waiting for a contract extension, which he ultimately got, but then someone in the organization began leaking unflattering perceptions about Johnson to the media.

It was said the Titans questioned his work ethic and that his laid-back attitude rubbed the team the wrong way.

“Yeah, there were some words that were said after I got paid that I quit or I stopped working hard,” Johnson said. “But any coach I ever had or anybody anywhere, they can never tell you that I don’t work hard. I know hard work gets it done, so I make sure I leave it all out there.”

After practice on Wednesday, for example, Johnson ran multiple wind sprints long after his teammates left the field for the locker room. It’s become a daily part of his post-practice regimen. Johnson said he needs the extra work while he continues to fight to get back into football shape.

“I don’t think I’m all the way there yet,” he said, smiling, “but I’m getting there, I’m getting there.”

The Cardinals couldn’t be happier with Johnson, and numerous teammates and coaches have said he’s been nothing but professional since he’s been here.

“Chris doesn’t say a lot. He talks every now and then, but he fits in fine,” Goodwin said. “The guys love him, I love him and the coaches love him. He works. He works. For a guy who’s been in the league as long as he has, it’s still important to him and he’s still working his butt off. He’s a humble guy, so it’s good to have him.”