O.J. Howard Off To Buffalo
March 17th, 2022
Gone.
Joe has a hunch O.J. Howard won’t like the fishing in March in Buffalo.
Howard, the former Bucs No. 1 pick, will trade the comfortable spring climate that is Tampa Bay for the wintery spring climate that is Buffalo as he signed with the Bills Wednesday night.
For many Bucs fans, Howard’s name will always elicit what could have been. Howard, at least his NFL days with the Bucs, was all hype and little substance. He flashed just enough to keep you excited and make your mouth water and then you’d wait for another month for Howard to make a play.
The turning point for Howard was likely when he tried to pull off a Magic Johnson behind-the-back dribble for a layup with the football and turned what should have been a touchdown into an interception.
But yeah, Jameis.
Howard finally began playing like the No. 19 overall pick in his first year with Tom Brady but in the fourth game of the year he blew out his Achilles and he was never remotely the same.
To this day, Joe gets angry text messages from Bucs fans who are still upset the Bucs drafted Howard over running back Dalvin Cook. In that draft, the Bucs were beyond desperate for a running back and Cam Brate led the NFL in touchdowns by tight ends. Yet then-Bucs coach Dirk Koetter still wanted Howard even though tight end wasn’t remotely a need. It turned out to be a wasted draft pick as Howard never developed and Cook turned into a dominant running back.
Just another example of how drafting the best player available is downright irresponsible.
Personally, the Cook/Howard debate is water under the bridge for Joe. The Bucs won a Super Bowl before the Vikings. Scoreboard, Bucs.
Sadly, Howard’s most memorable play came in a Rays playoff game.
Howard was always cool with Joe and Joe wishes him good luck in Buffalo. It was time for Howard and the Bucs to move on. Both parties tried to make it work. It just didn’t happen here.
No, Joe is not going to type a cheap “O.J./Buffalo” one-liner here.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:11 am
ADIOS!
March 17th, 2022 at 12:12 am
Still stuck on Jameis, aren’t we?
March 17th, 2022 at 12:15 am
He’s a good kid and I wish him the best. We’ve had lots of dudes with tons of talent that just didn’t work out with us.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:15 am
I think the change in scenery will do him well. Best of luck to him.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:19 am
Glad that’s the Bucs tight end they got and not Gronk.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:21 am
All he needs now is an endorsement from Hertz!
March 17th, 2022 at 12:35 am
Someone actually argued with me one day that the around the world INT that Howard caused was the fault of Jameis. Normally a lot of people in the comments are very dumb, but even on that one they were getting on the guy saying you can’t possibly blame Winston for that, and yet they did and wouldn’t change their mind no matter the evidence. That’s how you can tell when someone has derangement syndrome, just show them that play, and ask who’s fault it was.
Anywho, I liked OJ, early on when he was healthy, he made a lot of good plays. Then when he finally seemed to be clicking with Brady, he gets a severe injury. Last year I don’t buy he was fully healthy – or if he was, he lost a lot of his special ability that made him a 1st rounder.
I wish him the best as long as he’s not playing us. Seemed like a good guy, and the people that hate him are literally just bad people.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:36 am
How many Yrs/M?
March 17th, 2022 at 12:44 am
Oj…… in Buffalo……. wow that’s funny.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:45 am
His deal was 1yr, $3.5m, with bonuses that could take it to $5m total.
About what you pay for a back-up TE if they have any ability to catch the ball. OJ is a bit of a lottery ticket, and keep in mind Tampa’s offense isn’t TE friendly at all as Arians mainly wants his TE’s blocking. In Buffalo, if OJ is healthy and running routes instead of blocking 90% of the time, he could have a nice year. OR if he’s never really recovered from the injury, he might be done and not do anything. But in case we know if he is productive he’s going to get injured again.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:48 am
No kidding!
Joe sees what you did there! 🙂
March 17th, 2022 at 1:03 am
Glad OJ got another gig. Now let’s see if Rojo gets picked up.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:03 am
You never know. Sometimes a change of scenery does wonders for..some players. I can actually see Howard doing well with the Bills. He never was the player we hoped for here. Flashed here and there though. Good luck in..real..cold country.
When it comes to cold..Buffalo ain’t no joke.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:08 am
A month ago I would have thought a different TE would sign with Buffalo.
So happy to be wrong
March 17th, 2022 at 1:14 am
33 INTS. But yeah, receivers.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:20 am
@Mike C
Brilliant
March 17th, 2022 at 1:54 am
Joe said:” Just another example of how drafting the best player available is downright irresponsible.
You make no sense Joe. WTF does that mean? Draft sh!fty players instead? Too many Bromosa’s?
March 17th, 2022 at 2:01 am
Joe meant team need trumps bpa. Simple reading comprehension
March 17th, 2022 at 2:53 am
Odds are if we drafted Cook we wouldn’t have Brady. We would have been mediocre enough to stick with the HC and QB we had a little longer. No Arians. No Brady. No Lombardi.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:55 am
Tim — He threw 33 TDs, not INTs, dope.Get the basics right you triggered dummy.
BTW, 30 is 5 less than the team record by Vinny Testaverde, who paired 35 INTs with 13 TDs — and Vinny played until he was 44 years old.
GRRRRR!!!! ANGRY!!!! GRRRRR!!!!!
March 17th, 2022 at 2:57 am
1sparkybuc – Well if we didn’t trade the Josh Allen pick to Buffalo, we’d have him and wouldn’t have Vita or Brady.
March 17th, 2022 at 3:21 am
“But yeah, Jameis.”
Love the continued justification for 111 turnovers in only 72 games.
Both Jameis and OJ were overrated busts in Tampa, but at least the Jameis pick made sense. OJ was drafted when the Bucs already had a TE coming off scoring the most TD’s at his position the season prior with the justification that he would be even better. He never came close.
What could have been indeed.
March 17th, 2022 at 3:22 am
Now the Juice is back
March 17th, 2022 at 3:33 am
Jaymiss had more turnovers in 5 years than ANY other player. All of his interceptions will go down in the history record books as HIS. OJ Howard never equaled the hype – good luck to him in Buffalo. What might have been! For both players.
March 17th, 2022 at 4:11 am
For someone who has played the majority of his football in the south (SEC, Tampa Bay) there will be a brutal reality check come Nov./Dec. in Buffalo. j/s Good luck with that.
March 17th, 2022 at 4:50 am
Who is this Jameis person you are talking about? We have Tom Brady. That’s all that matters.
March 17th, 2022 at 5:08 am
Good signing by the Bills, hopefully OJ gets it right with a fresh start.
Bucs fans crying about Dalvin Cooke are just biased and probably still think Derwin James should’ve been the pick over Vita.
If we’re being unbiased, then we should’ve drafted TJ Watt over OJ.
March 17th, 2022 at 5:29 am
Good luck beating out Dawson Knox.
March 17th, 2022 at 5:56 am
maybe oj thinks the cold will wake his azz up a bit…
while marpet is huck finning it with his little banjo by the bay, oj will be iglooing it by the lakes of winnacakka…
—————
buffalo is a big time football town,,,oj is going to a darn good football team with a qb the city already truly loves, and fans that take their team very seriously up there
March 17th, 2022 at 5:57 am
he’s got a legit shot for a revival if he wears his long johns
March 17th, 2022 at 6:24 am
i told a friend last night…”oj to buffalo”
he looked at me confused and said: “mark ruffalo?”
i just said yeah, shook my head and walked away…
#PreSaintPattysBarFlying
March 17th, 2022 at 6:34 am
What folks tend to forget about Cook is he went in the 2nd rd due to character concerns coming out of FSU and I believe we were already dealing with Winston’s Uber situation. Koetter also had coached Gonzalez and saw the impact a fast/athletic TE could have on the game as well as help the QB. Unfortunately Howard never evolved into anything remotely close to his “potential”. Too many of these guys have the mindset that their talent is so superior that if the team they are with doesn’t recognize it, they’ll just take their talents elsewhere. Howard got signed, Rojo is still sitting out there probably just now realizing why he wasn’t listed as top FA running back.
March 17th, 2022 at 7:03 am
Pete. Payton Manning had more turnovers than Jamies his first 5 years. But look how Jamies looked when he left Tampa I believe he was about to kill us last year before he got hurt. We haven’t beaten the saints or Rams since Brady been the quarterback in the season. We only beat the saints 1 time and that was because of a good defensive play by Winfield JR and we never beat the Rams in the regular season or post season with Brady. The last time we beat the Rams Jamies was the quarterback and the Rams just played in a superbowl the year before . Facts!!!
March 17th, 2022 at 7:05 am
Didn’t Joe say players leaving would be a reflection on the quarterback?
March 17th, 2022 at 7:12 am
Good Riddance.
March 17th, 2022 at 7:24 am
I was hoping he’d go to LA so he could look for the real ki11ers of Ron & Nicole.
March 17th, 2022 at 7:31 am
Yeah Joe….Jay-Miss. This team would still be picking in the first 10 rounds of the draft if it wasn’t for Tom Brady.
But yeah, Jay-Miss
March 17th, 2022 at 7:34 am
Oneilbucyall, seriously you know Winsten would of beaten the Bucs. Are you Nostradonus? Blame your coaching staff, Brady had NEVER lost to the Rams and has beaten the Saints prior to joining the Bucs. Oh, Brady is also 2-0 over the reigning league MVP as a Buc.
March 17th, 2022 at 7:47 am
At least OJ didn’t sit around and sulk like Rojo. The man showed class as his value diminished. He will still play 2nd fiddle to Knox in Buffalo.
March 17th, 2022 at 8:17 am
What I recall is that Dirk AND Jason picked OJ knowing about the injury issues he had in college.
OJ could never stay healthy, just like the guy he replaced. He’ll be out of the league in a year or so.
James isn’t to blame. OJs heath problems were established before he was even drafted.
March 17th, 2022 at 8:20 am
Oh poor Rob……
It’s 40 TDs!!!!!!
You forgot the 7 picks 6.
Who is the dope?
Jameis will probably end up with Lovie in Houston. Full circle.
March 17th, 2022 at 8:24 am
If it weren’t for OJ Jameis would’ve only had 29 picks that year! Smh
March 17th, 2022 at 8:32 am
“But yeah, Jameis.”
Alright Joe, 5 interceptions weren’t his fault (I’m being generous) how about the pick sixes and the fact he still pissed that game away on his own. Oh yeah, and 10+ dropped interceptions.
Granted Joe knows his QBs so who am I to question it.
March 17th, 2022 at 8:43 am
I thought OJ’s first-round pedigree would keep him from being a merry minimum contract player, but then this Buffalo contract is higher than what I thought his market-clearing price would be. I thought he was worth something closer to $4 million, half of it guaranteed, on a two year deal.
It doesn’t matter now. What does matter is obviously re-signing Gronk, and making a decision on Brate. I like Brate, he has good hands for a TE and knows how to get open. But he has slowed down more than a bit and is no longer worth that contract. I’d like him to stick around, but that contract isn’t worth his level of production and substandard blocking.
Austin Hooper got cut. He’s available for probably less money than Brate and he’s a decent receiving TE and better blocker than Brate. Hooper’s production fell in Cleveland, the same happened to OBJ. The common denominator is Baker Mayfield’s decision-making after the snap, or the lack of it. I’d like Licht to bring him in for a test drive.
March 17th, 2022 at 8:49 am
Thank God! He’ll probably become a star in Buffalo. That’s what usually happens to Bucs who don’t live up to their potential in Tampa. THey go elsewhere and flourish. But at least we won’t spend any more time speculating on whether or not OJ can “turn the corner” this year.
March 17th, 2022 at 8:50 am
Onelilbuc……. Are you talking about regular season games? “Tom never beat the saints or Rams like Jaymiss” …..???? WTF ate you talking about BRADY GOT THE BUCS A RING! > better than anything that FAKE @$$ leader ever did.
March 17th, 2022 at 8:50 am
Are*
March 17th, 2022 at 9:01 am
OJ is bound to have a better season then he did last year!!!! He didn’t come to play when the team needed him the most!
March 17th, 2022 at 9:18 am
Oneil
Great points. Yah we would have been better off with jameis. He was the winner. Just only half the time
Jameis is the GOAT
Brady sucks. It was the defense
Any chance we can get you an MRI?
Curious to see if there is a brain in there
Its really a shame we have “fans” like you
March 17th, 2022 at 9:19 am
I have no problem with OJ, or any of our players becoming stars for other teams…..I have 6 ex wives that have flourished in their new relationships….
March 17th, 2022 at 9:20 am
I wasn’t going to comment but I have to laugh at the ease to which Joe baited then set the hook.
March 17th, 2022 at 9:27 am
OJ was a total wasted pick!
At the draft party I was at, people freaked out when we picked him.
Not only Delvin Cook, but we missed out on a ton of great players, because we picked him.
I wish him well up in Buffalo.
March 17th, 2022 at 10:02 am
@Tampabaybucfan
Just think, had you never married you’d have almost as many rings as Brady!
March 17th, 2022 at 10:19 am
I have read it twice on here already. And Marpet played the ukulele not a banjo two different instruments one with 4 plastic strings and one with 5 wire strings. If you are going to make fun of a guy at least use the actual instrument he can and does play. I am a mandolin and ukulele and guitar player. It rubs me the wrong way when someone calls my Mandolin a Ukulele.
March 17th, 2022 at 10:24 am
When we drafted OJ I can remember wondering…Why?
March 17th, 2022 at 11:03 am
Yeah, but what a specimen……LOL!
March 17th, 2022 at 11:31 am
Mike C. Our defense lead the way in the playoffs. Brady threw 3 picks in against the Packers and the defense step up so what are you talking about. And Jamies was the quarterback the last time we beat the Rams and the Saints. But guess what Brady is done after this season so get ready to move on from Brady in 10 months are leave when he retire if you are not a real bucs fan wich I’m sure you probably not !!
March 17th, 2022 at 11:42 am
Bird . It’s a shame we have fans like you who care more about Brady than the bucs. You celebrate Brady more than the bucs the bucs won the superbowl not just Brady . I guess you’re gone to when he retire next year? Forget Brady we could have had Watson for 10 plus years . If Brady was 35 or even 38 it would be a better move. But he’s 45 when the season starts and he is done after this season.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:15 pm
^^^^
Didnt give 2 rats ass about brady before he came here
Now we have everything cAuse he came here
We wouldnt have new allstars on this team with out him. Players were about to jump ship until he arrived
Oh And born in largo / tampa in the 70’s so was a buc fan before you
Dude you live in houston numbnuts
But now you are blaming him for not getting watson. 😂
Oh and the defense has played what 6 good games in the last 2 years and you come out every time to give them credit
It must really suck being you
March 17th, 2022 at 12:25 pm
Howard thinks that Howard is a damn attractive man (in a hetero way, of course) and Howard also thinks the Bills should invest in some modeling photo shoots for Howard. Get their moneys worth
Lets face it . No one is perfect. Even the Licht and the Glory makes occasional mistakes on pretty boys, thinking that their looks equal football ability, Which, as Howard said: In Howard’s case,,,it did not
March 17th, 2022 at 1:41 pm
Bird . You have been a bucs fan longer than I’ve been alive so if you telling the truth about that than I can understand why you only look at the right now . And I can respect that because I’ve been a bucs fan since 1995 . However your right I’m born and raised in Houston and was a oilers fan first. I grew up watching a hall of fame quarterback and that’s when I learned that defense wins championships regardless who the quarterback is because I remember watching the 1993 playoffs against the Bills when Moon threw over 500 yards and was up 31 to 3 and the defense choked. I saw a hall of fame quarterback that couldn’t win because of his defenses were average. This is why the defense side of the ball is more important than the quarterback position to me .
March 17th, 2022 at 2:02 pm
Oneilbuc you are a clown with no credibility, I have been a season ticket holder for 25 years and have a bucs flag tattooed on my arm, but another good call on me not being a fan….. smh #%$@ idiot, go worship your 30 30 crab leg lover.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:11 pm
I like how Oneil is such a mentally deficient clown he is implying we would have won a super bowl with a QB that is currently unsigned when Mitch Trubiskiy was signed.
BRO WE DIDN’T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS FOR 12 YEARS UNTIL GET GOT HERE.
>but but but the defense
Get over yourself, we didn’t even know if Watson wanted to come here. And so what the future is now we have a QB now I don’t get it. Jameis was never all of the problem but he was a large part of it.
Also your metric for QBs playing without defense is the biggest choke in the history of pro football.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:30 pm
Yea, Dalvin Cook was the pick.
It’s clear as day now, but it was pretty obvious on draft night too.
Licht got too cute because Howard was projected to go higher.
Not quite an Aguayo-level mistake though.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:35 pm
Yup Dalvin Cook was the pick.
Clear as day now, but pretty obvious then as well.
Not an Aguayo-level error though
March 17th, 2022 at 2:43 pm
Oneilbucyall, you don’t mention Brady is 2-0 against the reigning 2020, 2021 MVP. Teams play for the NOW not to win a SB in 5 to 10yrs. Warren Moon wasn’t half the QB as Brady (and it has nothing to do with his color before you go there). You make excuses when the QB’s you like lose but give no credit to the GOAT when he wins. FYI the offense averaged 30.75 pts in the playoffs, kind of hard to lose scoring that many points. You don’t believe me ask Heinike, Brees, Roger’s & Mahomes.
March 17th, 2022 at 3:20 pm
Listnfrmafar . If you put Moon in today’s football I can promise you that he will be a better quarterback than Brady. Moon put up the numbers when you can hit the quarterback how you want and the receivers had to worry about Safeties like Lot, Atwaters, taking their heads off . And again Brady played with how many top 5 defenses I believe every year he was the Patriots. You just a Patriot fan who don’t know nothing about football .
March 17th, 2022 at 6:48 pm
Mike C. I didn’t know if you were a bucs fan because it’s a lot of yall on here I’ve never seen. But I do know it’s Patriots fans on here also . But don’t call me a clown on the internet that’s what cowards do. I don’t call anyone names on here because I’m not in their face so and I’m not a inter net thug like most people. If I call someone out their name I would rather be in their face!!
March 17th, 2022 at 8:56 pm
LISTNFRMAFAR and O’NEIL – YOU ARE BOTH THE FAKEST FAN’S EVER !! LISTNFRMAFAR SHOULD NOT EVEN SPEAK ABOUT BRADY AND THE BUCS , AS HE WANTED TO SEE BRADY FREE TO PLAY WITH THE 49ERS !! AND O’NEIL , YOUR JUST A COMPLETE MORON AND WILL FIND ANYTHING TO COMPLAIN ABOUT EVEN DURING THE BUCS SUPER BOWL RUN YOU FIND ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU CAN THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN THE WAY YOUR SLOW MIND THOUGHT IT SHOULD !! AND I WILL CALL YOU BOTH CLOWNS AND IF YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT LMK IM IN ST. PETE I’LL MEET YOU AT THE PLACE OF YOUR CHOICE.. GO ROOT FOR ANOTHER TEAM PLEASE
March 18th, 2022 at 7:47 am
lol this guy still threatens to fight people from the internet. Man the comment section hasn’t changed one bit over the years here.
March 18th, 2022 at 8:00 am
TampabayDJ. Are you mad 😠 😡 😤 ?? 😆 🤣 😂 I see you thug life lol 😆 lol 😆 🤣 😂 😅!! I’ve probably been to more games than you and I don’t even live in Tampa . Lol 😆 🤣 😆 🤣 welp I guess I can’t go Tampa anymore because of TampabayDJ lol 😅 😂 😆 !!
March 18th, 2022 at 8:05 am
Brady sucks!!!
March 19th, 2022 at 8:53 pm
Oj I wish you the best. Dudes a class act meet him a few times in college. He’s a good player just gotta stay healthy. Hope you do well in Buffalo.