Charles Johnson dead: Former Patriots and Steelers star passes away at 50, cause of death unknown

In a shocking and tragic news, former Super Bowl winner Charles Johnson has passed away. The former wide receiver (not to be confused with the wide receiver of the same name who played a few seasons ago or the former Carolina Panthers defensive lineman) was 50 years old.

The cause of death has not yet been declared and it's unclear how he was found. Reports of his death have come from his home state of North Carolina. He had been working there as the assistant athletic director at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, NC.

The school were the ones who announced his tragic and untimely demise.

In 2016, he began working at Heritage, alongside former Steelers cornerback Dewayne Washington and Steelers legend Willie Parker. Hall of Fame wide receiver Torry Holt was also a member of that staff.

While CTE is something that often kills NFL players at a young age (which Johnson was), it's not clear if he had any issues of that kind. The story is still developing.

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Charles Johnson's NFL career

Charles Johnson was a star wide receiver at Colorado where he was teammates with future NFL teammate Kordell Stewart. Stewart would call him his favorite wideout later. The wideout was picked 17th by the Steelers in 1994.

29th Annual Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party Kordell Stewart

He played in the league for nine seasons before retiring in 2002. He was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he was drafted, the Philadelphia Eagles, the New England Patriots (where he won his lone Super Bowl), and the Buffalo Bills.

His best season came in 1996, when he recorded 60 catches (on 101 targets) and 1,008 yards. He also scored three times through the air. He recorded 44 first downs and a near-career high 59.8% catch rating.

He was eventually hurt and unable to participate in the Steelers Super Bowl loss to the Dallas Cowboys that season.

He never made a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro team but still had a solid career. In total, he recorded 354 catches and 4,606 yards across those nine seasons. He scored 24 times, including seven times in both the 1998 and the 2000 seasons.

The wide receiver played in Pittsburgh for five seasons before moving to New England. There, he put up just 111 yards over 14 games en route to a Super Bowl win.

That was Tom Brady's first Super Bowl win. Johnson did not crack the box score in the game.