Lonnie Johnson watched his Raiders beat the Patriots in full uniform -- on the couch

It wasn’t the start to his time as a Las Vegas Raider that Lonnie Johnson hoped when he signed with the franchise back in March. Training camp was going well and the former Wildcat was pushing for a starting job before suffering a broken fibula during a team scrimmage ahead of preseason action. It was over before it even began, the seventh-year defensive back placed on injured reserve to open the season, keeping him out for a minimum of four games.

He isn’t playing, but he’s making the most of his time away from the team as he waits for his debut. As his Raiders were taking on the New England Patriots in Week One, Johnson was watching from his couch at home in full uniform — head to toe.

His wife posted a video of the former Wildcat on social media with the caption, “First game of the season but your husband is on IR.”

Raiders helmet, white jersey, pads, padded pants, socks and cleats — or one cleat, rather, as his other leg is booted up.

TRENDING: #Raiders defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr. is on injured reserve but still put on his full uniform and helmet to watch his teammates.

😂😂😂

Love this.
pic.twitter.com/jADyURvxVF

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 8, 2025

“Put me in coach!!” Johnson said in his own post.

Put me in coach ‼️ pic.twitter.com/dkjY3HXRHF

— Lonnie Johnson jr. (@Lonnie30johnson) September 7, 2025

Las Vegas would go on to defeat New England 20-13 in the season opener, Johnson’s cheers clearly working from his couch. Fortunately, he may not need to do it too many more times, as Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said his absence would be weeks, not months.

And when the time comes for his return and debut in silver and black, there is a clear role waiting for him on the active roster.

“We really miss Lonnie. I think we recognize Lonnie in a way that he hasn’t been recognized in the earlier parts of his career,” Carroll said. “With great respect to the variety of things that he adds to the team and all, we really are going to miss him. We had a number of things that we had specially that he could do well in contributing to the defense and so we have to work a little bit to figure out how other guys can take those kinds of concepts and make them work for us.

“Lonnie’s in good spirits. He knows that it’s a good chance that it’s a minimal amount of time to get back. These five weeks are hugely important to him, so he can get back within 4-5 weeks into the season or whatever it is and we’ll really enjoy when he gets a chance to come back.”

Could he still play over half the season? It certainly sounds possible.

Johnson, who spent two seasons in Lexington in 2017 and 2018, was drafted in the second round by the Houston Texans in 2019 and appeared in 44 games with 19 starts in three seasons. From there, he played for the Tennessee Titans for one year, the New Orleans Saints for one year and the Carolina Panthers for one year. He is set to turn 30 years old in November.

Johnson has racked up 199 career tackles (150 solo) with 15 pass deflections, four interceptions, one fumble recovery and one tackle for loss in 83 games and 20 starts. He’s become a strong special teams contributor in recent years, logging 339 snaps on special teams with the Panthers last season compared to just 13 defensive snaps.

During his two-year career at Kentucky, Johnson accumulated 64 total tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, 12 pass breakups, two blocked kicks, one interception and one forced fumble. He started in 18 games across 26 total appearances in blue and white, including 18 straight starts to close out his career.

Keep that uniform nearby, Lonnie. It sounds like your time is coming sooner rather than later — one week closer.