Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Charles Johnson dead at 50

Charles Johnson, a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers who played in a Super Bowl with the New England Patriots and starred at the University of Colorado, has died. He was 50.

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Johnson’s college alma mater confirmed his death on Wednesday. Several former players also confirmed his death to WNCN-TV on Tuesday.

A cause of death has not been announced.

Johnson was chosen by Pittsburgh in the first round of the 1994 NFL draft, 17th overall, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. The wide receiver played five seasons for the Steelers, making 247 catches for 3,400 yards and 15 touchdowns.

From 1994 through 1998, Johnson was a starter for the Steelers, who went to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons with the team, NFL.com reported. He was on injured reserve and missed Super Bowl Bowl XXX, when Pittsburgh lost to the Dallas Cowboys.

After spending two years in Philadelphia, Johnson joined New England in 2001 and was part of the Patriots squad that won Super Bowl XXXVI.

Johnson retired after playing one season with the Buffalo Bills in 2002. He finished his pro career with 354 passes for 4,606 yards with 24 touchdowns in his career, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Johnson played four seasons at Colorado. He had 1,149 receiving yards and five touchdown catches his junior season and added 1,082 receiving yards and nine touchdowns as a senior, ESPN reported.

Johnson later served as assistant athletic director at Heritage High School in Wake Forest, North Carolina, WNCN reported.

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