Stevie Johnson To Tampa?
April 4th, 2014
It’s not a great year to be an expensive wide receiver. Just ask DeSean Jackson or Steve Smith. A highly-touted 2014 draft class of receivers — some say there are 16+ potential starters in the mix — seems to be giving teams confidence to make bold moves/non-moves.
The trade of Mike Williams today certainly could put the Bucs and Bills in that boat.
Williams was a legitimate, young No. 2 receiver. Now he’s been ditched for a sixth-round pick. Yes, the Bucs could be preparing to draft a wide receiver or two, but the Williams trade also has re-ignited talks of the Bills ditching expensive Stevie Johnson, a three-time, 1,000-yard receiver in his prime. He’s 27 and coming off a down year (52 catches, 597 yards in 12 games) at the start of the E.J. Manuel era.
Johnson began 2013 with a back injury and played through various ailments. He dropped some passes and felt the backlash as the team’s No. 1 receiver not performing to his contract. His three strong seasons were 2010-2012.
This week, NFL Network reporter Albert Breer speculated that Johnson could go on the trading block if the Bills draft Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans with their No. 9 overall pick. Joe would think adding Williams would only enhance the likelihood of that possibility.
Per Rotoworld.com, here’s the money due Johnson under his current contract:
2014: $3.65 million (+ $1.75 million roster bonus due in March)
2015: $5.5 million (+ $250,000 roster bonus)
2016: $5.85 million
2017: Free Agent
There is no debate any longer. The Bucs are desperate for wide receiver help — proven talent. And Tampa Bay has a pile of available cash under the salary cap. What’s next for the Bills and Johnson is unclear, but it’s certainly worth monitoring.
Johnson is an excellent receiver who might just be best suited to the No. 2 role behind Vincent Jackson.
April 4th, 2014 at 12:48 pm
Evans or watkins @7 its a wrap
April 4th, 2014 at 12:48 pm
Williams is easily replaceable. Wideouts are like running backs, you can get good ones late in the draft.
Guy was wayyyyyyyyyyyyy over paid for his skill level.
April 4th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
The Bucs have a pile of cash to spend? I don’t think so. Things are tightening up by now. They could dump Koenen I guess.
April 4th, 2014 at 12:55 pm
Stevie would be a nice pick up if we could pull it off! Another guy to keep your eyes on is Andre Roberts. Now that the Skins have signs D Jackson I could see them dealing Roberts.
April 4th, 2014 at 12:58 pm
They should of signed golden Tate when they had the chance.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:00 pm
This is one of the deepest drafts in history at WR. I don’t think it’s necessary to jump on WR at 7. Unless you think there’s going to be 7 WR’s taken in the first round, Benjamin, Beckham, Cooks, Lee, Landry, Montcrief, Robinson, etc etc etc will be there in the second
April 4th, 2014 at 1:00 pm
Its looking more and more likely we draft a receiver in round 1. Evans would be a great fit and he could learn the ropes Jackson. They are very comparable players and getting tips from Jackson could greatly accelerate Evans development!
April 4th, 2014 at 1:02 pm
Bucs fan in NC Says:
April 4th, 2014 at 12:55 pm
Stevie would be a nice pick up if we could pull it off! Another guy to keep your eyes on is Andre Roberts. Now that the Skins have signs D Jackson I could see them dealing Roberts.
Thye just signed him and gave him a bonus, no way he’s geeting dealt. If they are getting him why would the Bills give up a lousy 6th? Should of just swapped them.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:02 pm
Per Roy Cummings – Bucs looked at former Cal WR Lavelle Hawkins.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:07 pm
easily replaceable? who was last guy to score 22 tds first 3 years? If julio jones hasn’t done it then it was randy moss..yeah guys like that come around all the time. wtf? you could start a good team with mike williams, donald penn, davin joseph, darrell revis, and jeremy zutah.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
That’s less than Williams has left on his contract for 2014-2016.
And Johnson would come without the stabbing and grease fires!
Will they take a 6th for him?
April 4th, 2014 at 1:10 pm
Better than MW!
April 4th, 2014 at 1:10 pm
Too bad we didn’t make this trade before Edelman was signed… Cheap young and great slot receiver… Still wanting Manziel or Bortles in the 1st and Jordan Matthews/Paul Richardson/Brandin Cooks in the 2nd…
I don’t like the trade either..
April 4th, 2014 at 1:11 pm
“Thye just signed him and gave him a bonus, no way he’s geeting dealt. If they are getting him why would the Bills give up a lousy 6th? Should of just swapped them.”
———–
The Bucs gave Williams a new contract last year. And he got dealt.
Recent contracts don’t mean anything. Johnson’s deal was back in 2012 anyways.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:11 pm
Evans will be this years Randy Moss, he’s going to take the league by storm, he has it all, especially YAC, the man has a lot of fight in his heart and doesn’t just drop once he catches the football, he aims for the endzone 100% of the time, and having 2 BIG receivers (with big talent) for teams to contend with, it’s not just gonna be the Bucs defense teams have to worry about, I think come training camp (with possibly an HBO crew), Tampa Bay will be a hot up and coming team to look out for!
April 4th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Let’s trade them back there 6th for Stevie!!
April 4th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
If Stevie were coming here dont you think he would of been involved in a trade for mike will?
No. One step at a time. And the Bills haven’t started shopping him yet that is known. –Joe
April 4th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
I said it before trade vjax for a pick this year and next year. this year especially the first 5 games will be all about teaching and learning the new defense/offense. If you keep Vjax that’s all good too because he will be motivated to have a beast of a season. He will not make as much money on another team ala Brandon Marshall. His successor will be drafted this year, the Bucs will win a game you expect them to lose, lose a game(s) you expect them to win and be 8-8 or 9-7 at the end of the season.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:22 pm
After todays Williams trade, I’m sorta glad that Glennon doesn’t have to experiment with this ragtag offense. We’ve got one experienced receiver who is fast becoming more of a possession receiver. After that there is essentially nothing to work with unless you consider Murphy all world. Glennon had to operate a ragtag offense last year when so many starters went down for the year with injury, and he done admirably quite well through all the adversity but it also hurt his chances of being the starter this year because some people think a rookie QB should have picked up all the slack and won every game regardless whether he was playing with mostly career backups. Let McCown take all the heat. A 6th rounder for Williams, what a joke. It seems the Bucs are pretty good at taking it up the @ss, regardless of who is running the show.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:25 pm
ak427er Says:
easily replaceable? who was last guy to score 22 tds first 3 years? If julio jones hasn’t done it then it was randy moss..yeah guys like that come around all the time. wtf? you could start a good team with mike williams, donald penn, davin joseph, darrell revis, and jeremy zutah.
——————————————————————————-
All overpaid stars from a 4-12 team. Most were the same guys that quit on Rah too.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:28 pm
Just a thought, and something that would be pretty interesting to see.
Let’s say we get Evans at 7, Kelvin Benjamin in the 2nd.
3 WR sets that are all 6’5″ 230+? Could just have them run down-field and play 500 all day.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Sidney Rice!
April 4th, 2014 at 1:35 pm
ERIC :: Wide outs are not like RB, and easy to find. Did you not watch last year , when williams went down we could get a legit #2 WR..
Buc n and radio were calling for Williams head, now he is gone and whats the first thing you hear.We HAVE NO DEPTH AT WR position…!!!!!!! where are all the GM’s in tampa with the answer now.
Williams gone will hurt even if we get another WR, you need 3 good WR and hope no one gets hurt..
April 4th, 2014 at 1:36 pm
Relax folks we still have the draft and there will be some very serviceable FA talent thereafter.
I was a big MW fan and there is no denying his talent but Mike made his own bed.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
Lovie looked at the film and, after vomiting, decided to clean house.
Good for him………………vey much needed.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:46 pm
With Williams gone this clearly makes WR a priority in the draft. I would like them to trade down a few spots if possible and get more picks and maybe Evans if he is still there. It will certainly be and interesting draft to watch.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:50 pm
MW19 Hate mob is rejoicing today.
Now we have 1 WR on offense. Just ONE. Don’t try to tell me Owusu or Murphy are legit #2 receivers (or even #3s)
Better hope this draft is as “deep” as everyone says, because we all know the draft experts are always right with their predictions.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:54 pm
Biff,
(shaking my head)I can’t believe all of these bucs fans are not seeing the trend.So for my deep love of the Bucs,I will leave my first reponse ever.I dnt think it was their play so much (or is it so little?)that got them sent packing.I have friends who are bartenders at adult entertainment establishments that players go to.(no, I wont say what places)I have heard stories about how hard they party.Ironicly alot of those players are now gone.As far as Revis goes,I went with my boyfriend to the thursday game against the panters,I seen first hand revis not running up to tackle newton,several times he let the reciever box him out and didnt even try to get around him.for a 16 million dollar man,he had second string effort.I believe lovie knows the pulse of the tampa bay area.Hard working,proud blue collar people who are proud of their community.family people.Thats why brooks,lynch,and barber were so beloved.They represented hard work and class off of the field.
And as much as the Joes may hate this,That is why I feel johnny football will not be a buc.I think to most tampa fans hes too much hollywood,not enough lunch pail.
April 4th, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Trade back and grab cooks! Dude is Percy harvin with better hands and no headaches!
April 4th, 2014 at 1:59 pm
@Unbelieveable
Don’t you know that all we need is a to draft a great QB? Hell even a great rookie QB will make everybody into super stars according to a lot of these people. Lol
April 4th, 2014 at 2:02 pm
Remember: This is the deepest WR Draft in a very long time. They will draft some variation of QB WR WR in the first 3 rds. Depends who is there at #7. If no Manziel, they will draft Evans (provided Watkins is gone) and knab a Qb in Rd 2 and WR in Rd 3.
They know what they are doing.
Dont forget, one of the things Lovey will do is bring in more family oriented guys, rather than the me me me crowd. Humble is the word to be remembered.
And if the Bills cut Johnson, dont be surprised at all if he coems right to Tampa and never leaves.
Also dont forget that every one of these overpriced guys theyve dumped has saved them some cash. I dont have Williams’ numbers in front of me but he signed his ‘big contract’ last year, so they now have more money to spend. THey also can recoup what they were paying Zuttah sionce he was traded, and the low tier guys they brought in shouldn’t have cut into that too much.
April 4th, 2014 at 2:16 pm
Amen Thomas!! Its April plenty of time to add receiver talent. I think Evans will be Tron 2.0!! We have talent on our roster Shepard and Streeter just need a chance.
April 4th, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Williams is worth more than a 6th round pick. That can not be disputed. Bad move in my opinion.
April 4th, 2014 at 2:37 pm
I dont understand this, having 2 good WRs doesnt mean get rid of 1 of them. I really cant see the Bills (being the losers they are) getting rid of one of the few strengths on the team, which is now their WRs.
He and Mike Williams are similar player but not identical, and it’s a really nice receiving tandem.
Although all logic aside, I’d love to have Stevie Johnson backing Vjax.
April 4th, 2014 at 2:43 pm
miles austin, santonio holmes or sydney rice
April 4th, 2014 at 2:51 pm
I just love how everyone is assuming all this will be good results. If they have a losing record this year, you will all be saying how Lovie and Jason came in and tore the entire team apart.
Newsflash…
…replacing sub-par talent with other sub-par talent doesn’t do a lot.
April 4th, 2014 at 2:57 pm
Value wise, Watkins is the only WR worthy to go #7. I would rather reach for Ebron. Good bunch of WR talent can be had in the 2nd.
April 4th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
There is also 31 teams he could possibly land with IF he is traded.
April 4th, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Dude is damaged goods. He’s coming off surgery and a stabbing. Sixth, considering what has happened, is not bad.
April 4th, 2014 at 3:28 pm
Yes yes yes PLEASE lets get Stevie Johnson! Then we could still take Watkins or Evans (hopefully Watkins) and be set at WR for few years. And if we pick up FSU’s Benjamin too he could take over for V-Jax when his time is up.
April 4th, 2014 at 3:53 pm
@Snook
The person you were responding to about Stevie Johnson’s contract was not who he was talking about… He was talking about Andre Roberts who the Redskins just signed this offseason..
April 4th, 2014 at 3:53 pm
Don’t sell Lewis Murphy short. He could take William’s place and that would keep teams from loading the line of scrimmage, because Murphy at 4.3 speed can outrun most secondaries on go routes. However, now that we have freed up 1.8 million dollars, I say get Sydney Rice too, who is a very smooth, experienced receiver who knows how to get open in the NFL and move the chains. He was very productive when he played at South Carolina and my Cousin taught him in school in Gaffney, S.C., and speaks highly of him. He is a fine person as well as an athlete. No Williams problems! I do hope that the change of scenery will be enough to give Mike Williams a new start on his football career, and he can leave all the bad influences here behind. He deserves a big thank you for what he accomplished for the Bucs since he was drafted. The Offense when Freeman started was mostly throwing to Williams and a Veteran Tight End. For those who try to excuse Glennon’s poor production last year on the fact he only had two good receivers–I will remind them Freeman did a lot better with just two good receivers too!!!
April 4th, 2014 at 4:00 pm
For the people worried about cap space, relax! According to Pat Yasinskas, the Bucs had 12mil in cap space before the addition of 2 minimum salaried FBs. I see potentially another 10mil in cuts after the draft and perhaps a few more for additional cap space if needed – we now have 11 CBs if anyone hasn’t noticed.
Potential Buc cuts:
Michael Koenen………3,250,000
Luke Stocker……………….763,172
Michael Smith……………..586,287
Scott Solomon……………..570,000
Danny Lansanah…………..570,000
Chris Owusu…………………570,000
Mike Kafka……………………570,000
Matthew Masifilo…………495,000
Bradley McDougald………495,000
Patrick Murray……………..420,000
Marvin Booker……………..420,000
Jacob Scherm……………….420,000
Bobby Felder………………..420,000
Patrick Scales………………..420,000
TOTAL………………………….9,969,459
http://espn.go.com/blog/tampa-bay-buccaneers/post/_/id/3931/checking-in-on-the-salary-cap-2
April 4th, 2014 at 4:20 pm
So joe you say if Buffalo takes Evans at 9. He may not make it bc Tampa might take Evans at 7. I know you get a hard on whenever you hear manziels name and all but let’s face facts. He’s not coming to Tampa.
April 4th, 2014 at 4:32 pm
@Chris
How is that or anything that you just said a fact? SMH
April 4th, 2014 at 4:50 pm
Still pissed about just a 6th round pick! New staff is scaring my happy self!
April 4th, 2014 at 5:07 pm
Manziel isn’t a pocket qb. Tedfords looking for one. Brett smith is a perfect fit.
Mock:
1 – Evans
2 – trade down to mid 2nd recoup a 4th: Brett smith qb Wyoming
3rd- Bruce Ellington wr scarolina
4th: Dakota dozier g Furman
5th: Lamin barrow MLB Lsu
6th: Derrick Hopkins DT virginia tech
7th: Andrew norwell g/t Ohio state
April 4th, 2014 at 5:35 pm
Ak427ers
“wtf? you could start a good team with mike williams, donald penn, davin joseph, darrell revis, and jeremy zutah.”
No. You would have a 4-12 team. 4 out of those 5 have been here 5 years. And this team has been terrible.
Time for changes.
April 4th, 2014 at 5:54 pm
I see the need for changes, but only if there is marked improvement at the position changed.
And that cannot be said at any position so far, not even QB. While I don’t believe Glennon is a franchise QB at this point, he is certainly a better option than Josh McCown.
Think about it. McCown has been a career backup, and in that role he had 5 good games to end his career, was happy with it, but realized he could make a payday. So he stayed in the NFL and our genius new GM, Jason Licht, who trades for nothing but 6th or 7th rounders, gave the man the payday.
McCown’s ceiling is 5 wins so far. I DO believe Glennon can do better. Or a freshly drafted QB.
April 4th, 2014 at 5:59 pm
Oh, and btw…McCown went 3-2 during his 5 starts. That’s not great. That’s barely more than .500.
April 5th, 2014 at 2:19 am
Just sign Sidney Rice and you are set at number two receiver. Page, Murphy, Smith and our Olympic Sprinter can all be trained to be the slot receiver and none of these guys will drop passes just to avoid taking a hit!
April 5th, 2014 at 8:22 am
Mcown went 3-2 on a team giving up 200 yard a game rushing!!!!! it wasn’t his fault they couldn’t stop me from rushing!!! lol