Cardinals Rookie OL Paris Johnson Honors Pat Tillman

Arizona Cardinals rookie OL Paris Johnson honored Pat Tillman by wearing his jersey at his rookie contract signing.

Plenty of players show up in style to sign their first NFL contract, and Arizona Cardinals OL Paris Johnson was no different. 

Though he didn't dress in a full suit or make any strong fashion statements, Johnson arrived to the team facility in Tempe donning a Pat Tillman jersey:

this guy gets it.@ParisJohnsonJr with the Pat Tillman tribute 👏 pic.twitter.com/pooqg4QJon

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) May 11, 2023

Only Johnson could tell the story of how he got it - and how he chose to wear it:

"Right after I got picked, when I flew back from when I came out here, did all my media [interviews], on the plane back I was like 'Man, I gotta get some Arizona stuff.' But instead of buying a whole bunch of stuff, I feel like when I'm out there I'll get a whole bunch of team issued stuff. So I'm like, 'Alright, but I got to get something. I can walk around in a jersey of my own, but that looks cheesy. Like he's sporting his own jersey? That's a little cheesy.'

"But then I'm scrolling and scrolling and I see the Pat Tillman jersey and I was like, 'Oh snap." But then I saw the legacy one, the original one from like 2000 and I was like, 'Okay, that's the one.' 

"And it was on sale for $78, I was hyped. Originally I wanted the jersey - I didn't buy it to wear it the first day, I bought it because I wanted to have something that was Arizona. I'm into vintage stuff, that kind of stuff is cool.

"I shipped all my stuff here, I only came with a backpack … I'm like what am I gonna wear so I look in my closet and I saw the jersey - it was tilted towards me - I was like, 'That's the one. That's the one.' 

"It was cool to have that and be able to honor him. Obviously I never had the chance to meet him but my Mom did. My Dad obviously played behind him ... To even be that close to his legacy, that's awesome."

Full clip:

Arizona Cardinals first round pick @ParisJohnsonJr tells another hilarious story about buying his @pattillmanfnd Cards jersey.@PHNX_Cardinals pic.twitter.com/hdAj3kyBn3

— Bo Brack (@BoBrack) May 12, 2023

Obviously, the legacy of Pat Tillman needs no further explanation. What he was able to accomplish on and off the field has been a symbol of leadership, freedom and pride for so many people here in the state of Arizona. 

Pretty cool to see a younger player recognize that.