“What Took You So Long, Bro?”
April 29th, 2025
Bucs seventh round pick WR Tez Johnson.
Joe is really rooting for Tez Johnson to make the team.
The batting average of seventh-round picks is not good. So Joe isn’t getting hopes up. But Joe’s pulling for the rookie receiver/returner out of Oregon.
Every NFL team needs guys like Johnson and his personality. Fun guy. And he’s not bashful about speaking his mind.
The Bucs published video of when Bucs AC/DC-loving general manager Jason Licht called Johnson to inform him he was being selected by the Bucs on Saturday.
Now when Johnson later spoke with the Tampa Bay pen and mic club, he was asked about being a seventh-round pick. “What took [the Bucs] so long?” he replied.
Funny.
Well, as it turns out, that’s exactly what he told Licht.
“What took you so long, bro?” Johnson asked Licht on the phone, fighting back tears.
Licht had the perfect response.
“We didn’t have a sixth-round pick.”
Licht wasn’t lying.
Joe cannot wait to see Johnson run back punts. He said he tries to run like a squirrel. He sorts of looks like it the way he stops and starts at roughly 155 pounds.
Watching his highlights, sometimes the thing Joe thinks is, “Who has the joystick?”
“You’re going to be 31 teams’ kryptonite now.” 😤
Our call to @tezMania15 is worth the watch 📞 pic.twitter.com/RFnTVy7dVh
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) April 28, 2025
April 29th, 2025 at 5:12 am
That was a great moment. I love this kid. There’s a lot of dog in that squirrel!
April 29th, 2025 at 5:39 am
If he actually catches the ball and gets positive yards on a return ill take it. Though I’m kind of worried he will get blasted by a big player and lose the ball
April 29th, 2025 at 6:14 am
Awesome video. Lifetime moment for that kid.
April 29th, 2025 at 6:20 am
Realize that smaller guys have learned how to avoid bigger guys and taking major hits their entire lives, which make them so difficult to square up. Much harder to hit at full speed than most realize. Should be fun when he gets one to return!
April 29th, 2025 at 6:26 am
Love this guy. His tape at Oregon is amazing. Say bye bye Trey Palmer.
April 29th, 2025 at 6:38 am
Anyone who watched Freddie Solomon at UT will know how this kid runs. LOL
Go Bucs!
April 29th, 2025 at 6:51 am
@garro – good comparison. I saw Solomon when he was at UT. I too am hoping Johnson makes the team. It’ll be fun watching him break ankles on punt returns. Another seventh rounder I’ll be pulling for is Devin Culp. I loved seeing him have some brief success last year.
April 29th, 2025 at 7:13 am
At least he won’t field the punt and head to the sideline .
Solomon was 5’11”. 185……but I see the comparison..
April 29th, 2025 at 7:22 am
His size is not that much different than former UDFA Buc, Devin Thompson. Trey Palmer is a bust. He’s all mouth “see ball catch ball”. He’s another Jayden Darden /where’s outta bounds type guy on punt returns. Let’s go Tez!!!!
April 29th, 2025 at 7:25 am
Awesome video. I hope he works out.
April 29th, 2025 at 7:46 am
His YAC is impressive and the numbers he put up the past 2 years are pretty good. This WR is stacked tho. Hes gunna have to be so good that he knocks off a lot of other guys. Good luck rook
April 29th, 2025 at 7:51 am
I could see Tez making himself so valuable as a kick returner that Todd has to keep him. Watching his tape I never saw him take a direct hit. Tez is shifty and smart.
April 29th, 2025 at 7:51 am
He can make tacklers miss. Speed is great but speed alone does not do it alone. Training camp is gonna be fun.
April 29th, 2025 at 7:53 am
He can make tacklers miss. Speed is great but speed alone does not do it alone. Going to be fun to watch
April 29th, 2025 at 8:06 am
He can make people miss. Love that he watched Bucky’s film. Speed is important but for returning being elusive and breaking tackles gets the yards.
April 29th, 2025 at 8:20 am
This was a wasted pick.
Better move would have been to try and trade up for a safety.
But no, we just had to get another small player that won’t make it.
They ignored the defense early and we’ll see how that pans out.
28-27
April 29th, 2025 at 8:27 am
First came the hamster, now bring on the squirrel.
He may have too much personality, err, character to be a buc
April 29th, 2025 at 9:30 am
Until he delivers a blow and survives it to do it over and over, he’s just another side to side player.
Dunn wasn’t much bigger, but bot was he not one of the toughest players ever? He was a jitterbug that could deliver a ferocious blow to a would-be tackler.
No other small guy has come close.
April 29th, 2025 at 10:38 am
That’s the Way Back Machine! 🙂
April 29th, 2025 at 10:40 am
I hope he’s our Dante Hall. 🙂
April 29th, 2025 at 11:28 am
I love watching grateful and humble players taking the call. Bucs have some great citizens coming in that can play ball at a high level.
April 29th, 2025 at 11:54 am
Loved that moment and love this kid! Cheering for him to make it!
April 29th, 2025 at 12:05 pm
@BowlsSucks
Huh? We have multiple safeties already playing out of position. It’s also round 7 lol. Come on man…
April 29th, 2025 at 12:10 pm
I don’t want him at PR.
He’s too small!
I want a PR who can break the first tackle!
Mickens, Darden, Palmer…..
All small!
I’m tired of it!
Give me a PR who can make guys miss, and guys who aren’t afraid of contact!
Palmer is always running for the sidelines.
Darden used to crap his pants.
Mickens was tough but lacked explosive speed.
Why do we always have one of rhe worst return teams in the NFL!
We need to improve our special teams if we want to win a Super Bowl!
April 29th, 2025 at 12:33 pm
I’m with Joe on this one. In terms of just rooting for a guy this dude is the top pick! Will he be as important as the #1 pick, no, but he’ll be a ton of fun and has heart and the personality to make him ENTERTAINING. I still love the human interest stories.
I thought I wonder who could possibly put up something negative about a 7th round pick with such personality. The usual suspects did not disappoint.
There of course there was Aqualung and the guy competing for most negative attitude on JBF.
BowlesSucks Says:
April 29th, 2025 at 8:20 am
This was a wasted pick.
The odds of ANY player making it from the 7th round 1-2%! Wow so much on the line!!! Too bad to waste it eh.
April 29th, 2025 at 1:03 pm
Awesome video.
April 29th, 2025 at 1:04 pm
Palmer isn’t small, he just can’t make guys miss.
Tez is small but looks like he can juke guys left and right. Cautiously optimistic we finally have a weapon in the return game.
April 29th, 2025 at 2:47 pm
unbelievable, I kind of thought we drafted him mainly as a punt returner but I’ve changed my mind a bit. I think he makes the team and he gets some routes to run occasionally. Look out Shep, this kid wants your spot! Led college football in yards after catch? stpetebucsfan so the game says he has a 2 percent chance. And in the kids head he believes he has 100 percent chance. The average of those numbers is 51 percent. So Tez has over a 50 percent chance to be on the opening day roster. And I’m taking the Over on that number!
April 29th, 2025 at 4:14 pm
He’ll make the team as a returner AND he’ll contribute as a receiver. That’s my prediction.
Grizz, if he’s as creative as we hope, will find ways to incorporate him into our pass game…. He’s too quick and elusive to keep on the shelf 👍🏼
April 29th, 2025 at 4:18 pm
I would love to hear a punt returned for a score again. And why not this young dude? He’s a character and no diva, thank gawd!
April 29th, 2025 at 5:04 pm
Let’s hope the little guy grabs hold of the QB when Vita hurls him over the LOS on 3rd and medium. This might be the Bucs 2025 sack leader.
April 29th, 2025 at 8:13 pm
He is extremely likeable. It will be impossible not to root for this young man. I hope he’s here for a long career.
April 30th, 2025 at 10:47 am
Licht is quick on his feet, great answer!
May 1st, 2025 at 8:55 pm
Look out Shep, this kid wants your spot! Led college football in yards after catch?