While the 49ers’ quarterback carousel defined the 2022 NFC Championship Game, the true severity of the injury crisis was happening away from the cameras, with backup Josh Johnson. In a clip shared on X by Coach Yac on Wednesday, Johnson revealed he suffered two concussions and a brain bleed in the same game.

“Well, most people don’t know that I was double-concussed in that game,” Johnson said on the Ross Tucker Podcast. “Haason Reddick came off the edge, and he hit me, and my head hit the ground. I actually lost the ball on that play.”

During the 2022 season, Johnson served as backup to rookie Brock Purdy under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Purdy had already become the third starting quarterback that year after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. The team still made a deep playoff run.

In the NFC Championship Game, Purdy injured his elbow after a hit from Haason Reddick and later had surgery for a torn UCL. That forced Johnson into action in one of the biggest games of his career. But his night quickly took a dangerous turn. Johnson said the first big hit caused a concussion, but he did not know it at the time.

“I never had a concussion before, so I didn’t really know the symptoms,” Johnson said. “I never knew I was concussed. The whole time, I just felt really weird. Like I wasn’t present.”

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He stayed in the game because he did not understand what was happening. He said he felt like he was fighting himself mentally. He later learned the injury affected the processing side of his brain, not his memory. Later in the game, veteran defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh delivered another hard blow.

“To two in one. In the NFC Championship, the biggest game of my life,” Johnson said.

After that second hit, a referee told him he had stumbled while getting up. Johnson said he did not remember that moment. He failed the concussion test in the blue tent and was sent to the locker room.

What looked like a tough playoff loss turned into a serious health scare for Josh Johnson. Two concussions in one NFC Championship Game were bad enough. In one night, his Super Bowl dream became a fight for his career, and what happened next made it even tougher.

Brain bleed diagnosis put Josh Johnson’s career in doubt

Johnson did not just suffer two concussions in the NFC Championship Game. In the days after the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Johnson’s condition grew much more serious, as he was diagnosed with a brain bleed that nearly ended his time in the NFL.

“When I got to the locker room, I sat down on the training table, and I got up, and I almost threw up,” Johnson said. “And that’s when I knew, all right, it’s something.”

The flight back did not help. Johnson called it one of the worst plane rides of his life. He said he had never felt that uncomfortable before. Bright lights bothered him. Normal movement felt off. Still, he did not know about the brain bleed yet. Two days later, things got worse. He almost passed out in the shower. That scared his family.

“My wife called the team, and she was like, something’s not right,” Johnson shared.

An MRI confirmed the bleeding. Just days earlier, he was playing in one of the biggest games of his life. Now, his body felt completely different.

“I felt like three days ago I was one of the better athletes in the world,” he said. “And then three days later, I can’t even touch my toes.”

There was real fear that his career was over. Johnson began intense rehab with the 49ers’ medical staff and also worked daily with brain health specialist Sergio Asellino in San Francisco. He was told recovery could take six months. Instead, he healed in three months.

As Johnson explained, he got another chance. The Baltimore Ravens signed him after his recovery. He also switched to a different helmet model.

Johnson entered the league in 2009. Today, he is with the Washington Commanders, his eighth NFL team. One playoff game became a reminder of how quickly things can change in the NFL and how hard a player has to fight to come back.