Michael Johnson’s Agent Says His Client “Missed” The Bengals And “Wasn’t A Great Pass Rusher” Before He Got To Tampa Bay
February 27th, 2015
If the Bucs bring back ghostly and ghastly defensive end Michael Johnson this season, frankly, Joe won’t know what to say.
There will be plenty of head shaking at JoeBucsFan.com world headquarters.
Simply stated, last night Joe listened to late-January audio of Johnson’s agent, former Titans and Bengals defensive tackle John Thornton.
Mr. Thornton said, via ESPN Radio in Cincinnati, that Johnson missed the Bengals last year, and Thornton explained Johnson wasn’t a great pass rusher before he joined Tampa Bay to be their premier edge rusher — in a Lovie Smith defense that requires a fierce edge rush.
Here’s Thornton’s full take:
“I think they both missed each other,” Thornton said of Johnson and the Bengals. “And that’s probably, that’s probably a regret that I have. You know, I was a part of the process, [agent] Rick Smith from Priority, who I was partnered with with Mike Johnson and [Bengals VP] Katie [Blackburn] were the lead negotiators, but you know I was working with the coaches and trying to keep everyone going. But we probably, both sides, should have worked harder to get that deal done [Cincinnati]. I think it was motivation on both sides to get it done.
“But, you know, we knew a lot of people valued Mike a lot higher than the Bengals did. But the Bengals never had a backup for Mike. They never had a right end on the roster, and they still don’t. Robert Geathers is a left end. Carlos Dunlap is a left end. [Margus] Hunt, a left end. You know, [Wallace] Gilberry is best suited for situational role at right end. And he will give you six to eight sacks inside as a defensive tackle on pass rushing downs.
“So what Mike did is he allowed everybody else to rotate, because he was an every down guy. Now Mike wasn’t a great pass rusher, no. But he was really good against the run, he was decent against the pass, and that’s a huge value, because he helped everybody else be great. And I think that’s where we all missed the boat. Even though Mike got a great contract, you know he was hurt most of the year in Tampa. I felt like we could have done more to keep him here [with the Bengals]. You know, that’s something you learn in the business. Even as players, you don’t always have to go for the biggest contract. So I think that’s just something everybody learned from that. I felt we could have got it done, and they both missed each other.”
So Johnson missed the Bengals — while Team Glazer was paying him a fortune. With Gerald McCoy by his side. With a player’s coach like Lovie Smith.
This just confirms what Joe suspected three months ago.
Again, somebody, please give Joe a reason Team Glazer should sign up to shell out another $7 million to Johnson.
Feel free to listen to Johnson’s agent via the audio player below.
February 27th, 2015 at 6:12 am
Vomit……..
L&L missed big time too !!!!!
OMFreak’n GAWD !!!!!
February 27th, 2015 at 6:57 am
Cut him and make a move for Greg Hardy…Hardy’s not Saint but he is a ferocious pass-rusher that plays the run very well…
February 27th, 2015 at 7:13 am
Wow. Own agent saying not a great pass rusher. Oh man I wish we could get a 7 round pick for this apparition. He doesn’t even want to be here. Not trying on plays. I see why….
February 27th, 2015 at 7:33 am
Least mode
February 27th, 2015 at 7:46 am
GET RID OF HIM!!
February 27th, 2015 at 7:47 am
Time to release him….
February 27th, 2015 at 7:53 am
So, he is saying that the coaches in Cincinnati knew how to use MJ. Make sure you have a great RDE, and good DTs, and MJ can make sure that runs are stopped and do a reasonable job against the pass, just not getting to the QB. Overpaid for what he can do, and expected to do things he can’t.
February 27th, 2015 at 7:55 am
Peace out, Napoleon.
February 27th, 2015 at 8:06 am
Restructure him and send him off to the Bengals for a 5th rounder. He doesn’t want to be here. He’s every bit the disappointment Collins is, his contract just isn’t as cut friendly.
February 27th, 2015 at 8:09 am
Paul Dehner of the Cincinnati Enquirer believes the Bengals would be open to a reunion with RE Michael Johnson if Tampa Bay releases him.
This makes sense as Cincinnati needs defensive line help and the Buccaneers are trying to stay under the salary cap. Tampa Bay has a history of throwing in the towel early, dumping Darrelle Revis last offseason and more recently cutting veteran Josh McCown. Recurring ankle woes were partly to blame for Johnson’s underwhelming 2014 campaign (four sacks in 14 games).
Sign Greg Hardy
Trade Mike back 2 Cinny for a 2016 5th round pick
February 27th, 2015 at 8:10 am
I’ve been saying this for awhile now…lol
February 27th, 2015 at 8:13 am
Wow. Can his friggin a$$ now. Great job L&L!!!
February 27th, 2015 at 8:22 am
Sounds like a planned talk to stir things up and possibly get him released with money in pocket and go back to Cinci, Joe can you confirm what Bucs are on hook for if they release him?
February 27th, 2015 at 8:24 am
Cut him, plenty of DE out on the market who excel in pass rushing not the run, go after jerry hughes, was a beast at TCU and finally has emerged as a solid pass rusher.
February 27th, 2015 at 8:33 am
who cares this is a what have you done for me lately business and he hasnt done ish!! Tyvon Branch is being released i think we should go for him if we release Goldson, he was always productive when healthy
February 27th, 2015 at 8:41 am
YOURE FIRED!
February 27th, 2015 at 8:46 am
Trade him for a 12th round fantasy pick
February 27th, 2015 at 8:46 am
well, just goes to show you he was chasing the money
also goes to show that lack of interviewing skills on behalf of L & L.
anytime someone is just chasing the money it goes south, well 90% of the time.
February 27th, 2015 at 8:52 am
Forget the ‘good guys’! We gotta go “The Longest Yard” approach. Draft Winston, cut MJ and Dung Martin, sign Hardy, Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, and Mike Vick as a back up QB. Superbowl bound baby! LOL
February 27th, 2015 at 8:54 am
Trade him and a 6th for the Bengals 7th…… He sucks that bad
February 27th, 2015 at 8:56 am
@jvato24
Exactly bruh-If I recall Thornton (Ex-Bengal) was the agent on Johnson’s, Collins and McDonalds deals (All Ex Bengals).
February 27th, 2015 at 9:00 am
Send him packing. Take the loss and move on.
February 27th, 2015 at 9:06 am
position by the agent to get him sent packing………..trade him to the worst team in the league and make him pay!
oh wait…
February 27th, 2015 at 9:16 am
@ robert 9 LOL!!! Worse team? hmmmm…. Are trades with Pee Wee football leagues legal?
February 27th, 2015 at 9:21 am
Smh..get rid of him the bucs don’t need guys like this
February 27th, 2015 at 9:23 am
Pirate Marcus Says:
February 27th, 2015 at 7:33 am
“Least mode”
That really made me laugh this morning!!!
February 27th, 2015 at 9:30 am
this has to be the worst agent I’ve ever heard about, this guy’s supposed to have a masters degree and you say the guy you represent the guy your supposed to get max dollars for isn’t good at his craft and he misses he old team, the team that wouldn’t give him the money his agent tried to get lol damn. grown a$$ man talking about he’s missing a team that let him walk, still in bengals text messaging which cant really be true since we played them last year but this is beyond pathetic, we signed a boy that cant stand on his own as a man and is home sick how embarrassing. to stupid to learn a new defense, got the money he got from tampa because of someone else. the glazers should be embarrassed and I think they are too arrogant to pay this guy for another season
February 27th, 2015 at 9:36 am
Please…NO MORE free agents from the Bungals! They get up there with teary-eyed, whiney Marvin Lewis and they forget how to play, unless they have the constant whine droning in the background!
February 27th, 2015 at 9:37 am
I’m still mad the Bucs never gave Wallace Gilberry a fair shot while he was here in Tampa, Michael Johnson, and his Agents are bums!
February 27th, 2015 at 9:57 am
@bucs4lyfe
I agree…..the agent is an idiot….this damages Johnson going forward and he is still relatively young…
Perhaps we can work a deal with the Bengals…
But, Joe….I think you keep understating what we will owe Johnson if we cut him…..it’s $7m…..everywhere I’ve checked.
February 27th, 2015 at 9:59 am
Michael Johnson is a joke I never wanted him here. And his agent Is an idiot I can’t even believe he said all these things in Public. I guess he is just waiting for the bucs to do something about this asap
February 27th, 2015 at 10:06 am
Tr
February 27th, 2015 at 10:06 am
You really never want to be the highest bidder in FA. That’s what we did with Johnson & Collins. You want to get guys their teams cannot afford or dell out with, not guys those teams can afford to lose.
Examples: Bucs & Bennett, the O-Line last year, Goldson
February 27th, 2015 at 10:06 am
Trade him or cut hit him. Plan and simple.
February 27th, 2015 at 10:07 am
This comes out the day after Scott Smith declares MJ as his “player to step up” in 2015
February 27th, 2015 at 10:09 am
Free Agency should be exclusively average depth guys, other than guys that the above mentioned situation. In some cases you clearly see the advantage of promoting practice squad guys over trades and free agents.
February 27th, 2015 at 10:13 am
Cut him. Don’t care what it costs! Lovie has to show the others that this type of effort is not going to be accepted or rewarded. There needs to be a new culture in Tampa, and Johnson should not be a part of it.
February 27th, 2015 at 10:15 am
@bucs4iyfe
I agree. What a dumbass. I would be so pissed at my agent if he said that publicly. These ex-football player agents have been hit the head a lot so u have to be careful if ur gonna choose one
February 27th, 2015 at 10:16 am
Johnson will NOT be cut. If we cut him we will be paying in 7 million dollars to play for another team. If we keep him we are paying him 9 million. So basiclly its only a 2 million dollar difference whether he is on the team or not. He atleast provides depth for 2 million. Next year we owe him nothing and that is when he will be cut. Unless he is so desprate to leave tampa this year to renogiate his contract where we owe him a lot less to be cut. Here is the contract info http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/tampa-bay-buccaneers/michael-johnson/
February 27th, 2015 at 10:28 am
Seriously??? Any questions about what to do with this guy???
February 27th, 2015 at 10:34 am
If the bucs owe him 7 million and only save two if they cut him, call me crazy but I would keep him and sit his a$$ on the bench the entire year just to be spiteful and mean! He robbed the Glazers of money last year
February 27th, 2015 at 10:46 am
I would go after Greg Hardy this year..im sure he can be had on a discounted price due to his off field issue. Keep Johnson on the bench this year for depth and cut him loose next year when we owe him nothing. Then its basically a swap for greg hardy for johnson at probably a lot cheaper price. Upgrade at player and contract
February 27th, 2015 at 11:26 am
All of you goof balls that keep calling for Johnson to be cut are goof balls!!!
We owe Johnson $7 million garunteed freaking dollars!!!!
Do any of you understand what the term “garunteed” means?
I am as frustrated by Johnson’s crap filled season as you are!!!
However, due to his absolutely ridiculous contract we are very much stuck with him!!!
Remember Carl Nicks? Mr. Big Toe? Ya he had garunteed money and we kept his big butt because of it… He was only released when we reached an injury settlement with him…
OK! Johnson isn’t going anywhere this year… So please stop being TARDS!!!
Might want to do some research, Mac. –Joe
February 27th, 2015 at 11:35 am
Don’t be mad at Johnson. The only people that thought he was the second coming of Simeon was you wise football fans on this site and the tweedle dee and tweedle dumb duo that also brought us McTrash and Collins. Johnson is just some sad sack of no talent with a huge bag of money. LovieDovie was throwing it at his head….was he not supposed to catch it?
February 27th, 2015 at 11:35 am
BUC weak a$$$ MJ and his agent!
February 27th, 2015 at 11:53 am
Joe.
Johnson is due a $4 million dollar roster bonus and a salary of $3 million dollars…
Both are garunteed!!! Garunteed!!!
We only save $2 million by cutting him and will still have to pay him the $7 mil…
Check out the numbers on spotrac.com
February 27th, 2015 at 11:59 am
^^^think he is right, Joe. Everywhere I have read says that the man gets $7mil guaranteed, $2mil more if he gets the opportunity to further humiliate this franchise and it’s fanbase by wearing a Bucs uni in 2015.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
That’s really the best way to look at it…do you want to pay this non-football player an extra $2mil to humiliate you on Sundays in 2015?
$7mil is already spent no matter what you do. Let’s shed some this rank shame that Lovie and lapdog brought to this fanbase last year.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:04 pm
There’s nothing to research Joe… Mac was talking about his cap hit this year is $7 million if we cut him.. If he stays here then his cap his is $9 million.. Also read the top of the page if we don’t cut him this year then he counts against the cap automatically in 2016 as well.. Been long overdue for him to be cut.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed DE Michael Johnson to a five year, $43.75 million contract on March 11, 2014. Johnson received $9 million in fully guaranteed salary in 2014 and $7 million of guaranteed salary in 2015. He can increase his fully guaranteed 2015 compensation by $2 million and his fully guaranteed 2016 compensation by $5 million by being on the roster on the 3rd day of the 2015 League Year. Base salaries of the contract are $5,000,000(2014), $5,000,000(2015), $7,750,000(2016), $8,250,000(2017), and $8,250,000(2018).
http://overthecap.com/player/michael-johnson/938/
February 27th, 2015 at 12:09 pm
Johnson’s agent admits that his client isn’t a great pass rusher? Wow. The Bucs got bamboozled on that one. Lovie needs a great pass rusher to make the defense work. There’s no reason to keep him.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:14 pm
Licht has said in the past that he believes in moving on from a player when they aren’t working out. This is a prime example.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:20 pm
That’s right folks… $7 million garunteed…
Johnson ain’t going nowhere…
He was injured last year… I agree this sucks but we have to take one more bite of the big old crap sandwhich… Thanks L&L…
Not to mention creating another whole to fill on a team with too many holes makes no sense either…
Who would you replace him with? Adrian Clayborn? No thanks…
February 27th, 2015 at 12:27 pm
Mac- the $7mil is already spent. Keeping him serves no useful purpose. Any young prospect, vet or even Clayborn is indisputably a better option than that non-football player. Stop say we have to keep him. It is just not true
February 27th, 2015 at 12:50 pm
^^ No they don’t have to keep him, but if you’re already spending the money and eating up the cap space, then you have to consider keeping him. The question isn’t whether he’s worth 9 million. It’s whether he’s worth 2 million, the difference between keeping him and cutting him. Unless you’re certain he can’t play up to 2 million dollars, or you just want to avoid having underachievers around to infect your team, you need to consider keeping him. Making emotional decisions that have cap consequences does not help this franchise.
The question really is as simple as this: is Johnson worth 2 million dollars? The other 7 million is gone, regardless.
February 27th, 2015 at 12:53 pm
@ Dallas
I admire your spirit… However I disagree… Johnsons 11 sacks in 2012 proves he can perform at a high level… Your statement that he is a “non football player” is invalid… He had a bad injury filled year on a team that was 2-14… I’m not satisfied by his effort or his play but when a player is injured their abilities are depleted… He played all year with a hihh ankle sprain… That is a very painful injury…Let’s stop hating on Johnson and give him a chance to get healthy… All we can do is hope he still has the same abilities he displayed in 2012…
We have choice… Licht will not allow $7 mil in dead cap space… No freaking way would any GM in their right mind do that…
And Joe, your wrong… Please check your facts sir… I drink your milkshake!!!
February 27th, 2015 at 12:57 pm
oops…
“We have NO choice”
Left out the “no”…
February 27th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
Mac- his agent essentially said he fell into all those sacks 3 years ago. What are the excuses for 2013? This non-football player got shown a bit of attention after the previous year and blew goats with no convenient injury excuses.
The only reason a GM would not dump this guy is because of the $7mil of dead money but that is still a choice: personal ego over what is best for the Bucs. More shame from the leadership of Lovie and lapdog
February 27th, 2015 at 1:46 pm
Selling agent comes out and says that his client isn’t that good? Wow. That’s the shi**iest agent I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:53 pm
You guys that are claiming to keep him because it only saves us $2 million obviously didn’t read the link I posted… If we keep him this year it automatically clicks in a clause in his contract for 2016 where $5 is GUARANTEED… So there is more incentive to cut bait this off-season than just the $2 million.
February 27th, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Salish- “Unless you’re certain he can’t play up to 2 million dollars, or you just want to avoid having underachievers around to infect your team, you need to consider keeping him. Making emotional decisions that have cap consequences does not help this franchise.”
That’s right. After 2 straight years of non-football playing you can be about as sure as it gets this guy is not worth $2mil and certainly sounds like a good idea not to keep around high priced underachievers, doesn’t it? It’s not an emotional decision. In the words of Michael Corleone: “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.”
February 27th, 2015 at 2:03 pm
@DB-
It doesn’t have anything to do with ego. It has to do with making rational decisions about how to use available cap. They have a choice – spend 2 million on Johnson and expect a decent performance, or spend that same amount or more on a FA and expect better performance dollar for dollar. Last year is over. Now they are saddled with that guarantee no matter what, so rationally you take it out of the equation and ask what’s the most productive way to spend that 2 million dollars. Let’s say Johnson is fully healed and fully adapted to the scheme here now and he puts up 7 or 8 sacks… Is that worth 2 million? Are you going to do better on the FA market? Maybe Johnson is just a 3-4 sack guy no matter what. That’s probably not worth 2 million, especially if his effort and commitment are questionable.
It’s not a decision that should be made in a knee-jerk fashion. It’s about buying the most pass rush for the money. 2 million, not 9 million.
February 27th, 2015 at 2:06 pm
Ultimately, it’s going to come down to LNL’s determination (projection) on whether he will perform better in 2015. If they think he will, then I believe he will stay.
They’ll use the same criteria for Collins, and most everyone, myself included, believes that means Collins is gone.
February 27th, 2015 at 2:10 pm
Phillip Says:
February 27th, 2015 at 1:53 pm
If this information is true, then I think it would be very hard to keep him around. Expecting a performance worthy of another 5 million in 2016 is unreasonable. Where did you get this info? Are you sure it’s reliable?
February 27th, 2015 at 2:19 pm
http://overthecap.com/player/michael-johnson/938/
I posted it in my first comment..
I posted something about him the other day as well how this even if money wasn’t involved would send a CLEAR message that we will cut bait if you get paid and don’t perform as we are willing to eat $7 million to just get rid of you.. Yes you save $2 million but lets say you go out and sign a free agent who can actually perform for say $5 million for the season (Trent Cole as an example) then you really only paid an additional $3 million to get a productive player at a high priority spot instead of someone who plays with no heart and no production.
February 27th, 2015 at 2:22 pm
Salish- stop trying to convince me on the $7mil. I have been the first and most consistent one beating that drum about it being sunk cost. I have also said consistently that this non-football player is not worth a valuable roster spot in May OTAs much less $2mil. You can disagree with me if you want but if they do keep this bum it is purely because the collective ego of Lovie and his lapdog Licht will not allow them to admit they got it wrong to the tune of $7mil in dead cap space in 2015. The tape don’t lie. This guy does not play football. He just looks like he does and gets paid like it too.
February 27th, 2015 at 2:39 pm
So he didn’t play to his potential because he was homesick? What garbage and a soft minded individual. He signed the contract, he knew what he was getting himself into time to man up, play ball, and earn that money. To think everyone wants to throw Clayborn out the window, at least he gives it his all on the field even if he isn’t that good.
Apparently M. Johnson is more sackless between his legs than he is on the field looks like it’s time to just cut this cancer out now and let him go cry in another town.
February 27th, 2015 at 2:42 pm
Cool. Trade him to Cincy for a 7th rounder. We can use the extra cap space to bring in real football players that want to carry on a tradition of excellence for the Buccaneers.
February 27th, 2015 at 3:05 pm
When is Joe going to clarify for his readers how the Bucs are saving $7 million dollars by cutting him? Either that or they seriously need to quit spreading misinformation, because it is not good journalism and looks bad. According to every source that I’ve researched it states that $7 million of his $9 million salary is fully guaranteed. Thus, only saving $2 million by cutting him, which would be a farce because you can’t sign any pass rushers for that price not even horrible ones. I would be willing to even make a bet that he won’t get cut. Paying a guy 16 or 18 million for one season is not something the Glazers want to do.
February 27th, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Johnson better be the first D-lineman to go, but we better trade and not just release him #guaranteesalary
February 27th, 2015 at 3:15 pm
I’m not sure why its so hard to decipher his contract – but there are conflicting reports as to the details of what Johnson is owed (and guaranteed).
My understanding from having looked at details of his contract previously was that we owe him $7M no matter what this year and another $2M is guaranteed for this year if he isn’t cut before the 3rd day of the league year. That no salary towards 2016 becomes guaranteed until the 3rd day of league year NEXT year. So if that is the case – then we could keep him for an extra $2M this year over the $7M that is already guaranteed – and if we cut him prior to day 3 of league year in 2016 – there would be no penalty and no more guarantees.
Now a couple sources (Florio and OTC) are saying if he is on the roster on day 3 of 2015 league year – then the additional $2M for 2015 AND $5M of 2016 salary become guaranteed.
So which is it?? and why are there conflicting reports or interpretations of his contract?
That extra $5M guarantee towards next year which (according to Florio and now OTC but OTC showed it differently just recently) supposedly kicks in this year – makes all the difference.
If he is guaranteed $5M towards next year if we keep him this year – then its a no brainer to cut him. If the only thing we risk is the extra $2M this year and then can make a decision about next year free of extra future guarantees until day 3 of league year in 2016 – then I think its a no brainer to keep him for 1 more year and see if he is worth $9M per year based on his play when healthy.
Joe can you please get to the bottom of this conflicting info regarding Johnson’s contract? Preferably with some type of definitive proof as to the details. spotrac and OTC are now not agreeing on this detail but previously were. OTC has changed what is written about that detail on their site recently. So what is the truth here and why are there conflicting reports on the $2M vs $7M additional guarantee if we don’t cut him soon?
February 27th, 2015 at 3:42 pm
I like the idea of reworking the deal and trading him to Cincy. I’m not sure if guaranteed money can be renegotiated, but even if it can’t, cut his contract to only what is guaranteed and see if the Bengals would take it. It’ll be hard to have him back after the agents comments.
February 27th, 2015 at 4:30 pm
I did not read through all the posts, so forgive me if I am repeating someone else, but with Goldson being ‘chummy’ with SanFran, Casillas still ‘pining’ for the Saints, Mankins having a man-crush on the Pats, and now Johnson wanting to re-unite with the Bengals, exactly what kind of questions are the Bucs asking during the interview process? Will free agency, once again, bring players who only halfheartedly want to be here? Will they need to hire ‘The Mentalist’ to determine whether a player will get ‘home-sick’?
In all my years following football, I can NEVER recall this kind of behavior, and ESPECIALLY this many on the same team.
February 27th, 2015 at 5:00 pm
@Hawk,
I blame the CBA and the horde of morons in the Tampa media who have attacked the Glazers for being cheap over the years. Paying players more money doesn’t make them better. Actually, it seems the opposite is more likely.
The phrase “build through the draft” is popular because it’s the only way that works. You can’t build a positive “team culture” with other teams players. Good teams with established culture and success can use FA’s. The culture is already there and it’s easy to play hard when you’re winning. Why would a big time free agent sign with a bad team? The only good answer is money, but it’s not enough to make players give %110.
Free agency is the icing on the cake. We need a cake first.
February 27th, 2015 at 5:17 pm
Thanks Bill
Cannot argue with that, but I wasn’t really looking for ‘why’ they still feel an allegiance/loyalty/friendship to their former team. I was wondering (out loud) why the Bucs seem to get more than their share of these guys. It could be that other teams are just as afflicted, but it doesn’t make headlines outside of their own city. It could also be that the Bucs have been more active, than most, in free agency, and the odds were against them. It could also be that constant losing (here) makes them long for the ‘good times’. Or it could be a combine of any/all the above. It just stuck me as very odd.
February 27th, 2015 at 6:42 pm
This guy pisses me off.
This is what’s wrong with the Bucs.
He’s what’s wrong with America………(merica baby!)
He’s what’s wrong with mankind.
I can guarantee you he won’t take a penny less.
It’s been a scam from day one.
**** this *****.
February 27th, 2015 at 6:48 pm
I just have tp think that with his contract, there must have been some
kind of feeling if not an explicit statement that he would be a difference
maker on the D-line.
So he basically lied to Lovie.
Nice.
February 27th, 2015 at 7:33 pm
It’s all bs he wants out of tampa and his agent is trying to get him out. This is a josh freemen move mike does not want to be in tampa so now there trying to convince tampa he’s not worth keeping with this statement. Now with that being said he did suck this season no doubt.
it’s a smoke screen. they need to get rid of him.
February 28th, 2015 at 10:00 am
Everything he said was spot on. Only L&L and the local media convinced themselves this guy was gonna be a pass rushing force. Anyone who watched the film knows he’s a guy who can hold up at the point of attack and make some plays in pursuit, but doesn’t have the quickness and flexibility to get upfield and turn the corner on LTs. Jacquies Smith proved in a short period of time that Johnson is not a disruptive pass rusher.
In L&L we trust though guys! They F-ed up free agency, made some dumb trades and wasted a 3rd round pick, but still let’s trust them to pick the Rapeis and set us back another 5+ years! woohoo go Yucs!
March 2nd, 2015 at 7:23 pm
this was the first transaction of the lovie smith era, and i hated it from the start. it reeked of overpayment and a hopeful projection. outside of his big 2012 and one other season, adrian clayborn (who he was signed to start ahead of) he couldn’t even top adrian clayborn’s average healthy season. somehow i think his agent always had a thought of scurrying back to cincy after a major payday. after seeing us cut revis one year after a major investment, maybe they liked their worst case scenario: collect $16 mil for a season’s work and then retreat back to cincy for a more modest contract once MJ has been run out of Tampa.
i was all for bringing him back for training camp since the savings aren’t compelling, but if his agent is out there saying he was never a great pass rusher to begin with and he is pining for his old team and situation, cut bait and move on. it just embarrases the heck out of me that the bucs have joined the raiders and the redskins as the undisputed biggest rubes in the league. if you are a GM that wants to fleece somebody in a trade or you are a player hoping to get insanely overpaid, the bucaneers front office is on your speed dial
March 4th, 2015 at 11:14 am
[…] fit and admitted he had a learning curve lining up much wider than he did in Cincinnati. And per the stunning comments of Johnson’s own agent, the Bucs didn’t know Johnson very […]
March 11th, 2015 at 3:30 pm
[…] own freaking agent threw him under the bus six weeks ago, saying he wasn’t a great pass rusher and would have been happier to stay in Cincinnati. When […]