Tyler Johnson became a surprise Buccaneers cut Tuesday. As expected, the young wide receiver found a new home on waivers. The Texans claimed him, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
The former fifth-round pick has two years remaining on his rookie contract. He will head to a Texans team featuring less talent at the receiver position compared to the Bucs’ three-Pro Bowler (feat. Russell Gage) setup.
Tampa Bay added Gage and Julio Jones this offseason, doing so after franchise-tagging and extending Chris Godwin. Mike Evans remains as well. Breshad Perriman also remains with the Bucs. Tampa Bay’s receiver reload, in what could be Tom Brady‘s final season, left Johnson with a tougher-than-expected climb back to the 53-man roster.
A Minnesota alum, Johnson showed growth in his second season. He caught 36 passes for 360 yards in Year 2. While the presences of Godwin, Evans and, when available, Antonio Brown impacted Johnson’s status, he served as an intriguing depth piece in Tampa. In Houston, the 206-pound pass catcher should have more room for growth.
The Texans extended Brandin Cooks this offseason, shutting down trade rumors, and have 2021 third-rounder Nico Collins in place as Cooks’ top sidekick. But Johnson could profile as a Davis Mills tertiary target soon.
Well that just makes sense.
All so the Bucs can have Julio Jones for one year.
I think Julio has little to do with it. Johnson is best as a slot receiver, and the Bucs signed Gage, who’s best in the slot, when they already had Godwin, who’s spent most of his time lining up there the last three years.