1978. Merrill, who was released by the Cincinnati Bengals and claimed off waivers by the Packers, was considered by the team as the better, more consistent interior lineman against the run. The Packers claimed Johnson lost his job because of his lack of "size" and low upside. However, during the preseason, many people within the Packers organization "questioned" Johnson's desire to play and his attitude, an allegation Johnson quickly denied. He also was fined by Starr an unknown amount of money for almost missing a team flight to New York after celebrating his birthday the previous night, misplacing his car keys. He only started three games that season. By 1982, Johnson regained his starting job over Merrill. Defensive coordinator John Meyer stated that Johnson was "playing his best football" since his breakout 1978 season. Johnson stated that "eating his mother's cooking" and being "healthy" were the main reasons for his improvement. He signed a three-year contract with the Packers at $450,000 a year. It led to a lawsuit against his former agency Bradcor Sports Servicing, who claimed that he never gave the agency their commission. He had an official career best of 14.5 quarterback sacks in 1983 along with 107 tackles, a team record by a defensive lineman in a single season. The success didn't last long, as Johnson started to get hampered with back injuries, which reduced his effectiveness. In 1984, Johnson had surgery for a herniated disk, an injury he suffered during training camp, and was known as a potential career-ending injury. He missed the first game of the regular season against the St. Louis Cardinals and could not fully recover from the injury. Again he lost his starting job, becoming a third-down pass-rushing specialist, and was credited with seven sacks for the year; the injury forced Johnson to mull retirement. Prior to the start of training camp for the 1985 season, Johnson had a second surgery to repair his herniated disk. At the same time, Johnson took on a leadership role for the Green Bay defense, and started to accept his role as a backup and started to mentor the younger players. After injuries befell the Packers' defensive line, Johnson regained his starting position at defensive end. He started all 16 games that year, achieving 9.5 sacks. His career started to diminish after that season. In 1986, Johnson was credited with three and a half sacks as