Cause Of Death For Former NFL Receiver Charles Johnson Revealed

A medical examiner has confirmed the cause of the death for Johnson, who passed away in July.

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A report from the North Carolina state medical examiner has revealed the official cause of death for retired NFL wide receiver Charles Johnson. USA Today managed to obtain a copy of it, which showed that Johnson overdosed from drugs. Officials believe it was a suicide.

Johnson, 50, was reported missing on July 16 by his wife. He was found dead in a hotel room about 7 miles from his Raleigh home the next day. The report says that he had “acute oxycodone, hydrocodone and mirtazapine toxicity.”

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The report also revealed that “the previous week, [Johnson] had been acting strange and had recently purchased a funeral and cremation service.” In addition, the report described the objects found in Johnson’s hotel room which included: “two empty bottles of water, an empty travel [sized] bottle of body lotion, an empty travel container, a pair or sandals and a pair of eyeglasses.

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“A query of the North Carolina Prescription Monitoring Service showed no active prescriptions. An old (2018) short-term hydrocodone prescription was documented.” Johnson had allegedly went back home after checking in at the hotel and had left other belongings, including his wallet, car keys and phone there.

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Johnson is best known for playing nine seasons in the NFL on the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots. He won a Super Bowl with the Patriots back in 2002. During his career, he obtained 4,606 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns.

In September, USA Today Sports reported that Johnson said he suffered head, brain, spine and neck injuries during his time in the league (1994-2003) and was deemed permanently disabled from playing football.

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This was documented in a workers compensation case. At the time of his death, Johnson worked as a staff member and coach at Heritage High School in Wake Forest.