Get The Fred Out

PHILADELPHIA – Upon entering the Eagles’ locker room on a given day, you’re almost sure to recognize a booming voice bellowing from the back half of the room.

Good natured and seemingly always jovial, sometimes the banter and laughter is directed at the phone in his hand.

But more often than not, Fred Johnson is seated at his locker, engaged in an impassioned discussion with teammates that could pertain to a variety of topics.

The Eagles’ reserve tackle, who on most game days operates in relative anonymity, perhaps best embodies the “dawg mentality” and culture of which head coach Nick Sirianni often references.

Johnson, a 27-year-old journeyman, is as welcoming, charismatic and humorous as they come, but even more appealing is Johnson’s humbleness, good-natured attitude and never-complacent mentality.

The West Palm Beach, Fla., native scratched and clawed to find a place where he belonged – the Eagles are his fourth NFL team – before finally landing in Philadelphia, with a franchise that he said wanted and believed in him.

Johnson, initially signed in 2022 as a member of the practice squad, developed into a top backup, even reworking his contract last summer into a two-year deal.

On Thursday, I spent a few minutes at Johnson’s locker to chat for what would be a humorous conversation.

Meet one of the Eagles’ most unheralded gems, both as a player and person.

GETTY IMAGES: Reserve OT Fred Johsnon likes to keep it light in the locker room.

Andrew: Your first job was at an insurance claim call center, is that right?

Fred: “Yeah, my first job actually on paper, was a call center. It was, like, 10 minutes from my house. It was in, like, a … you know those office spaces? It looked like ‘The Office.’ But it was like cubicles and evrything like that. Very boring and just very trash. And I would make calls all day and not get one, single lead. I asked the manager after like a week, I was like, ‘How am I not fired yet?’ [Laughs].

Andrew: How long did you last?

Fred: “I lasted, what, like a month before I just was like, ‘It’s not worth it.’ And I got another job with a record storage facility, kinda by my grandparent’s house.”

Andrew: How did that compare?

Fred: “Oh, it was nice. They was [Florida] Gators fans; they knew I was going to college. So, everything was just nice and just very smooth. I didn’t do nothing strenuous. I just worked and got money. Like, pulled records and stuff.”

Andrew: I understand the No. 74 is tied to your grandfather. Would you mind sharing the story?

Fred: “I mean, I had the number since college. It really didn’t mean nothing. My one year of high school, I had [number] 72. And then everywhere I went in the league before I got here, I had 74. But in Cincinnati, before my grandfather passed, like how it kinda happened, was just very surreal. He died on my birthday [in] 2021. And he was 74, he was gonna turn 75. I’d just turned however old. My friends who flew in said there were 74 people on their flight. And then the waitress at the restaurant said something about there was like this nice bottle of ’74 wine or something. And then money for the valet – everybody in the car pulled their cash together and it was like $74 altogether, between five people. So, just very weird, and then he passed away, so that number meant something. I’m like, ‘OK, now this is a serious number.’ So, when I came here, I was [number] 50 and then they said I had to earn the 74 back the next year. And that’s what I did.”

Andrew: Ahead of Week 1 you shared with me you had a karaoke machine at home. What’s the backstory?

Fred: “You just go to the store and buy a karaoke machine! I just like playing music and stuff. Sometimes, I get carried away with singing songs, and like my mom comes over and my son comes over and I be singing on it. Just a form of expression instead of yellin’ all the time. [Laughs].”

Andrew: I know you said it gets loud sometimes, and you felt as though you should get your neighbors some tickets. Have you done that yet?

Fred: “I definitely feel like I should get them some tickets. It’s a long season, I ain’t do it yet. But I’m gonna probably do it here in the next month or something like that, when we you have more home games.”

Andrew: Pregame, how do you go about getting locked in?

Fred: “I just listen to music. I listen to a lot of Kevin Gates and other artists of this day and age. I listen to 50 Cent. I listen to just angry people [laughs]. And I listen to Inky Johnson’s motivational speeches. He had one where he talked his lifestyle growing up that I related to, and adversity and stuff like that.”

Andrew: At the podium a few weeks ago, you spoke about some of the adversity you encountered in your career. Is that something that still fuels you?

Fred: “You always go through adversity, but I’ve been going through adversity since before I even knew what it meant. Getting in college wasn’t an easy feat. When I left college, it wasn’t easy to get to the league and been going through it since then. And even now, that I worked this hard and stuff, you look back and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m ready for anything.’ So, the stuff that you go through with football and stuff like that, it’s just a career at the end of the day. It’s a game you love, but the stuff that you go through within this sport, prepares you for anything in life, or anything outside of here you go through in your life without football. So, it’s just something that fuels you, something that you think about in the back of your head. Like, you ain’t come this far just to come this far.”

Andrew: What the biggest lesson learned from [offensive line coach] Jeff Stoutland?

Fred: “Just give your all when you can and don’t worry about what you can’t control. And believe in yourself.”

Andrew: How much does it mean to you to have a coach who believes in you?

Fred: “It means a lot, honestly. Ain’t too many coaches I’ve had like that. And ain’t too many coaches I really believed before him. So, it means a lot. It means the world to be in a room like that where guys are obviously at the top of their position, the top of their respective careers. To be in this room, it just means the world. It’s definitely one of the best o-line rooms I’ve been in. It’s been super fun, super entertaining. And just a blessing.”

Andrew: What’s your biggest pet peeve?

Fred: My biggest pet peeve? Like, in life?! Like, just anything?

Andrew: Anything that comes to mind. You pick it.

Fred: “I have a lot. My biggest pet peeve is when it’s quiet and you can hear someone part their lips. It’s like the subtlest sound, but it’s so annoying. My first-grade teacher, Ms. Conner, she had a microphone, and you could hear everything. And so, she would always part her lips before she spoke. And after like a year, it just got super – like, that’s the only thing I can remember from that class, was hearing her part her lips. I hated it.”

Andrew: [Laughs] For me, it’s chewing.

Fred: “Chewing is not that bad because I chew loud. But when you part your lips, it’s like a little sound. And it’s annoying, because you don’t need to do that. It’s not a necessity. You just do it because you choose to just annoy everybody else. And you’re a selfish person. [Laughs].

Andrew: Last one. Where do you feel you’ve made the greatest strides at this point of your career, Fred?

Fred: “The biggest strides I feel like I made is just technique wise and urgency in my sets … and mentally. It goes back to dealing with a lot of f—ed up situations that you have no control over, and just building that confidence back up to be who you wanna be and make the back end of my career something memorable. Something I could be proud of. So, I think my ability to never waver and constantly fight the good fight is probably the most Fred thing about me.”

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.