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A triceps injury prematurely ended the 2002 season for Green Bay Packers defensive end Joe Johnson. Now, it's a quadriceps injury that has shortened his 2003 campaign.
Packers coach-general manager Mike Sherman announced on Tuesday that Johnson has a torn right quadriceps tendon, just above the kneecap, and will miss the rest of the season.
Johnson, 31, suffered the injury in the first quarter of Sunday's game against Kansas City and underwent an MRI on Monday. NFL Tickets
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"Joe will have surgery within a couple of weeks to repair the injury,"
Sherman said. "At some point, we will place him on injured reserve."
The Packers signed Johnson to a six-year, $33 million contract in March 2002, but it has turned into an unlucky investment.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Johnson started the first five games of the 2002 season at the right end position, but suffered a season-ending torn left triceps in the second half of an October 7 game at Chicago.
This season, Johnson was moved to left end to replace Vonnie Holliday, who signed in the offseason with Kansas City. But this time he lasted into his sixth game before another season-ending injury. NFL Tickets
The 6-4, 275-pound Johnson spent the first eight years of his career with the New Orleans Saints and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1998 and 2000. He missed the entire 1999 season with a ruptured patella tendon.