Tyler Johnson Is Riding A Streak
August 11th, 2021
After early struggles in training camp and reporting out of shape, second-year receiver Tyler Johnson is now on a roll.
And he picked up a key compliment today from Bucco Bruce Arians.
Arians praised Johnson’s blocking, and that’s huge. (No, it’s not because he’s going to be the next Michael Clayton.)
For those who don’t watch the Bucs offense carefully, Chris Godwin blocks a lot, including big dudes in the trenches. It’s all part of the scheme and what it means to play the slot in Arians’ offense.
Scotty Miller and Antonio Brown aren’t going to go there, and Johnson, who is a bit of a Godwin clone, needs to if he’s going to have a clear future under this Bucs coaching staff.
Johnson has had about seven or eight really good days after his rough start, Arians said, and the head coach added that Johnson is a pound or two away from weight.
(As you can see from Joe’s recent photo above, Johnson looks a lot leaner than when he showed up at camp.)
This all great news. If Johnson is the player the Bucs think he is, he should make a good leap this year. And if that means not being seen much and making huge plays in playoff games again, Joe’s all good with that.
August 11th, 2021 at 5:10 pm
“A pound or two off” that would be a lifelong dream for Pete
August 11th, 2021 at 5:15 pm
Nice. I have high hopes for this kid and I was a little disappointed to hear he was struggling early in camp. He made a few great catches and showed flashes of brilliance last year. Lets hope he continues to develop.
Chris Godwin’s next contract will be very expensive. It would be nice to have other options in case things don’t work out…
August 11th, 2021 at 5:22 pm
I highly doubt Godwin is going to be back, I hope I’m wrong, but it sounds like he’s not taking any sort of hometown discounts and while you can play a lot of tricks with the cap, it’s probably pushing it to have Godwin and Evans as top dollar guys.
So if Tyler Johnson can show something, it would make you feel a lot better about having to let Godwin go. I’d be interesting in seeing Johnson play some more, it sounds like he’s better in games than he is in practice, and his straight line speed is not very good. That’s why having a preseason should be big for him.
August 11th, 2021 at 5:24 pm
Rod what you wanna bet Godwin is back?
August 11th, 2021 at 5:31 pm
Pete…isn’t it two pounds on, one pound off….two pounds on, one pound off…and so forth?
August 11th, 2021 at 5:36 pm
Sapp just said he didn’t go to John Lynch’s HOF party because John, Allsott & other former players weren’t vaccinated.
Sapp then said: my BMI is 31% and I’m in trouble if i get it
August 11th, 2021 at 5:43 pm
Sapp just said the only person you can compare TB12 to is Michael Jordan
August 11th, 2021 at 5:45 pm
Sapp still hates Chidi Ahanatu
August 11th, 2021 at 5:45 pm
Don’t look at the list of Bucs free agents. It’s depressing. 40 in total.
2021 is it for this team. Enjoy it.
August 11th, 2021 at 5:53 pm
Unfortunately, Godwin will be priced out of town next year. IMO
Johnson hopefully can fill this spot at a fraction of the cost!
I don’t think you can keep paying Mike and Chris big $$ and keep other components on the team! Unless Tryon flashes hard this year and someone on the D-line to replace Suh and JPP.
Hate to see them go… but it’s always about the money!
Negotiation 101!!
August 11th, 2021 at 5:55 pm
As much as I hate to see us let someone like CG go, it sure looks like the plan is to let him walk in free agency and let some combination of Johnson and Darden fill his shoes.
August 11th, 2021 at 6:01 pm
Godwin will make more money staying in Tampa if they keep on winning. Players who stick with a winning franchise make more money in the end.
August 11th, 2021 at 6:06 pm
BA just has a way of getting through to people.
August 11th, 2021 at 6:50 pm
Another huge security blanket for the future WR corp. Resign Godwin and you got TJ and I’m pretty sold on Darden at the moment. That’s just three.
August 11th, 2021 at 7:26 pm
Having to take LaVonte David on blocking will make one lose a LOT of weight. Because it would scare the poop out me. David is a terror.
August 11th, 2021 at 7:46 pm
I’m sorry but I don’t see ANY comparison of Tyler Johnson to Chris Godwin !!
Not even close. Let’s just see how the season plays out , then talk about this kind of stuff
August 11th, 2021 at 8:06 pm
He will be fine. A couple sneezes and a fart and he will lose one or two pounds easy.
August 11th, 2021 at 8:11 pm
I was dead wrong about his weight, but I’m encouraged by the young man! LFG TYLER!!!
August 11th, 2021 at 8:21 pm
They’re both 6’1″ 200-ish lb willing blockers who can play the slot in addition to the outside. They both entered the NFL under the radar from B1G schools. Johnson averaged 14.1 yds last year with 1 more TD than Godwin’s 15.4 yds avg his rookie year.
I mean if you can’t see a comparison then your eyes are closed. Sure the total production isn’t there yet with one guy having played 3 years less in the league on a deeper team at WR no less. But jeez, who p*ssed in your dinner this evening?
August 11th, 2021 at 9:06 pm
TbDJ82
Two 6’1 long armed WR with hands and upper body strength to create blocks. Can produce YAC. Ya ain’t been watching close enough.
August 11th, 2021 at 9:12 pm
Godwin will be back. Jansen will be gone. Suh, Gholston, Brate and Howard will all be gone. The cap also goes up. There will be plenty of money to bring Godwin and Davis back.
August 11th, 2021 at 9:14 pm
Thinking Gholston stays. He’s not that expensive. He’s reliable and he is very good against the run.
August 11th, 2021 at 9:25 pm
Trask and his rookie contract would create ALOT of cap space for a few yrs. There’s a plan in place. Trust this regime.
In BA I Trust!
August 11th, 2021 at 9:26 pm
Godwin gives up his body on every play and misses a few games a season because of it. Johnson plays a similar style and both can block. I see them 1,2 this season and more.
August 11th, 2021 at 10:41 pm
Joe, Gholston is a free agent after this year, and his price will possibly go up.
August 11th, 2021 at 10:49 pm
Way to turn it around TJ. He made some clutch catches in 2020…the Bucs will need him to deliver in key spots in 2021.
August 11th, 2021 at 11:23 pm
If Tom Brady is here next year which he will still be under contract I would be stunned if the Bucs let Godwin walk. He and Evans were two of the reasons he came here in the first place. I think Gholston stays as well, he has put down roots here and probably takes a home town discount.
August 11th, 2021 at 11:52 pm
Salary cap is going up by a lot next year, we’ll be good signing players. The only way I see Tampa having an issue is if the Bucs do go undefeated and Brady calls it a career.
August 12th, 2021 at 12:12 am
LakelandSteve
I would rather give that money to JPP and move him inside to finish his career. Draft another DL in the first round and let Tryon take over outside.
August 12th, 2021 at 12:13 am
Youngbucs – I’ll bet nothing since I hope I’m wrong and they can keep him around. But go look at next year’s roster with salary – how they fit him in, and keep the OL together, and figure out who is going to play on the d-line, etc – it’s going to be a lot harder to keep everyone together for another year. But, as I said, you can make the cap do just about anything, so perhaps they can figure it out, and I hope they do. But at the same time, the team would be very smart to see what they got in Johnson.
August 12th, 2021 at 12:20 am
Miller5252 – Without Godwin, Kappa, Jensen, JPP, Davis, OJ, Gholston, Suh, Gronk, and more… the Bucs only have $18m in cap space.
Even if the cap went up $20m, it’s going to be extremely difficult to get all these guys back.
But, I’m not totally sure how the void year deals work if those are just dead cap, or if you resign them if it reduces the amount, or if they get restructured – it’s new to me so I’m not sure. But the void years show up now as just dead cap space, which is part of the reason the available amount is so low.
Maybe someone who actually knows, isn’t guessing but actually knows, can explain it. It might be real simple if it’s dead cap space, but it’s a lot of years of dead cap space if that’s the case, which is why I assume there’s more to it than that.
August 12th, 2021 at 2:13 am
Why the heck is this discussion about the 2022 Bucs? Let’s enjoy 2021 frst, hmmm?