Love And Tenderness For Tez Johnson
August 17th, 2025
There was a rookie comforting a rookie last night in the bowels of the Steelers’ home stadium.
Tampa Bay’s rookie playcaller, Josh Grizzard, was walking and holding rookie returner/receiver Tez Johnson within minutes after the Bucs-Steelers game concluded.
Grizzard has a few inches on Johnson and the 35-year-old coordinator had his arm around him like a dad might while consoling his teenager after a rough game.
Johnson had a rocky night in his NFL debut. He dazzled with a long punt return and botched another that quickly became a Steelers touchdown.
Joe saw other words and gesutures of encouragement for Johnson in the postgame locker room.
Todd Bowles was very upbeat talking about Johnson after the game. No hint of disappointment in his voice, even with the brutal turnover.
“A muffed punt, I think is a good learning experience for him as a rookie,” Bowles said. “You know, you got to take care of the ball and you got to manage the game back there. That’s one of the prime responsibilities of a punt returner. So it’s a very good lesson for him that he’ll get better with going forward, but I thought he played fast and I thought he played hard.”
Joe is convinced the Bucs want Johnson to win the returner/receiver job. There’s no true battle with him and Trey Palmer, who is close to returning to action. But there’s no way Bowles will continue to tolerate turnovers from a returner.
Johnson has to stop it now.
On offense, Johnson caught four of seven targets for 24 yards, and that included a rough drop on what could have been a big play.
The Bucs have a lot to think about when it comes to how much faith and patience they will invest in the rookie this year.
August 17th, 2025 at 10:40 am
It seems like Garrett Greene been doing a decent job of returning punts. But Bowles and staff already know who they want to keep..
August 17th, 2025 at 10:44 am
The dwarf would be great as an aerial pass rusher, hurled by Vita at the opposing QB. But that’s it.
August 17th, 2025 at 10:48 am
I wonder if Trask and Palmer will end up on the same team after the Bucs cut them.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:01 am
Aqualung, funny post! BA’s Red Pen, funnier post! LakelandBuc, baseless conspiracy claim. Some things never change!
August 17th, 2025 at 11:02 am
BA’s Red Pen Says:
August 17th, 2025 at 10:48 am
I wonder if Trask and Palmer will end up on the same team after the Bucs cut them.
———————
Trask – 5 years
Bridgewater – 11 days
Trask should no longer be QB #2.
I think we’ve all seen enough.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:04 am
Interesting data point: The Atlanta Falcons have not played a single starter on offense in either preseason game. On the other hand, they have played their #1 draft choices a ton of plays and he has shown little. They report only one injury and that player may start week one.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:05 am
Have to at least keep Greene on the practice squad. The odds of Tez playing the entire season aren’t great.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:18 am
@74BucsFan
That’s exactly what I said. Trask really doesn’t have an excuse anymore. You’ve been with Brady learning from him & all & he’s been with them for a couple of years now & he’s still inconsistent but yet they sign Bridgewater & he’s already looking better after a couple of days. I’d put Bridgewater with Baker instead. That’s part of the reason why I didn’t want Trask from the beginning because no QBs make it out of Florida. He needs to go along with Dean because Dean looked like garbage in that game. Morrison is probably gonna take over.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:20 am
No more of that cute sh*t Tez. Wasn’t a fan of his, still kind of on the fence about Johnson, but he looked decent last night.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:22 am
All I know is I saw a steel curtain around him when the ball got to him and only one Bucs player nearby. Same thing every year. Seems like players aren’t taught how to keep their blocking assignment from getting downfield so the returner has a chance to not only run but to field the ball cleanly. His first return was very nice, he was decisive and aggressive. His mistake is a learning experience, let the ball go if surrounded by the enemy.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:35 am
Got a few ‘competitions’ going on.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:43 am
Let’s be honest, Tez looked scared making a fair catch in traffic. He let the ball hit the ground when he needed to come up, and fair catch it with bodies all around him. In space he’s good, but that rarely happens. Greene on the other hand looks fearless. Always runs straight forward.
August 17th, 2025 at 11:51 am
Better it happened in preseason and remember when Sean Tucker… Almost same thing probably kick off return he got the ball back but it was still a big loss of yards as long as everybody did it go crazy on him he’ll be OK. What is
August 17th, 2025 at 12:00 pm
Let’s go bucs!! #BUCS4LIFE
August 17th, 2025 at 12:15 pm
Wonder how many stars in Canton fumbled preseason punts as rookies? Seriously, we’ve got some rubes on here.
August 17th, 2025 at 12:24 pm
Greene is better.
August 17th, 2025 at 12:24 pm
The Trask comments are insane….
Bridgewater -> 11 days..
***Played with STARTING O-LINE and STARTING offensive weapons***
This o-line should be Top 5 in the NFL when Wirfs comes back.
Trask -> going on YEAR 5…
***We have only seen Trask on THREE offensive plays with the starting O-line and offensive weapons in 4.5 FREAKEN YEARS!!***
Instead he got to reap the benefit of playing with a SIEVE of an o-line last nite that even the Joes have been commenting on how bad they’ve looked this offseason…
Don’t try & make comparisons when each player is given different variables to work with…
Bridgewater only played in shotgun last nite on EVERY snap. Wonder why??? Cuz he’s limited…Only threw 1 nice ball to Egbuka. I wasn’t impressed…
August 17th, 2025 at 12:26 pm
We will probably never find out if Trask can play when the lights are on….
This should have never been the current situation.
That’s a total failure on Bowles…
August 17th, 2025 at 12:36 pm
These guys are competing for roster spots
And everything should be settled on the field
This is not a popularity contest,
Where , the most popular player wins
August 17th, 2025 at 12:37 pm
I don’t buy the “he’s a rookie” excuse. Tez has been returning punts for probably half of his life and knows that’s a bonehead play. He mentally wilted under the lights, more than once, and that doesn’t bode well for his future. When you get to the NFL, you either have mental toughness or you don’t. A player doesn’t magically attain that attribute by signing a contract. I want to be a fan; he’s making it difficult.
August 17th, 2025 at 12:41 pm
Greene is a practice squad guy because he could play QB too.
August 17th, 2025 at 1:09 pm
Convinced we could win a Super Bowl and some comments would still criticize Bowles
August 17th, 2025 at 1:15 pm
Johnson also badly misplayed a punt with about a minute left in the first half . Johnson was in position and signaled fair catch at the twenty , but inexplicably side stepped and let the ball hit the turf and it rolled way inside the 10 almost to the 5 putting the offense in horrible field position. Once a punt returner makes a decision not to catch a punt, he should be running to get away from the ball as if it strikes you ,that ball is live.
Greene looks more reliable and a better WR. Greene has to make the team.
August 17th, 2025 at 2:13 pm
Tez is playing scared.
August 17th, 2025 at 2:34 pm
‘Love and Tenderness for Tez’ give me a break! sounds like his mommy wrote this. These are grown men fighting for a shot. I can’t imagine any other players getting these excuses and coddling, it’s because of his size and his likability. Too many short people seeing themselves in him. And I frankly don’t find him so likable. He seems immature, he rides the coattails of being ‘besties with Bucky’ and Bo Nix’s brother, doesn’t come off as humble, and is too cocky posing on the plane to Pittsburgh with diamond grills on his teeth like he’s a two-time Super Bowl champion. He needs a year on the practice squad to get his head on straight and his body ready to take a beating. He showed us last night that he is neither physically nor mentally equipped for the NFL. Greene is the obvious choice.
August 17th, 2025 at 2:51 pm
Tampa Ted, that’s a tough choice. Do you keep Greene or Tez? Right now, if we can only keep one, I’m keeping Greene. But we need to have alot of tough choices like this to be the best team we can be. Maybe we can keep both.
August 17th, 2025 at 2:52 pm
As long as we keep Shep, that is.
August 17th, 2025 at 3:02 pm
I don’t know, we seem to draft a small guy in the late rounds every year and brag about him then the lights come on and the dream is over and reality sets in. Jaelon Darden, Trey Palmer, Kenny Bell, the only one that panned out was Scotty Miller.
August 17th, 2025 at 3:54 pm
^^^
That’s because we had a QB that could take advantage of Millers’ speed. Baker can get it there, but his touch and accuracy aren’t on TBs’ level not by a longshot, pun intended.
Guys keep talking like Trey Palmer is bad or got worse. Nah he’s somebody we drafted with a totally different scheme and imo is the one casualty from having different OCs and a QB totally different than the one he had when we drafted him.
August 17th, 2025 at 4:38 pm
@addb
Exactly. Some fans are like nagging women.
Never satisfied!
August 17th, 2025 at 4:38 pm
Tez needs to be one the practice squad , he missed on a pass and made a bone headed play on the return. Greene has better vision and hands. Also, Tez isn’t faster than Greene. For someone his size he is actually pretty slow.
August 17th, 2025 at 4:46 pm
If f he is a man he will learn.
I would bet on him learning.
August 17th, 2025 at 5:08 pm
The comments on here are mind boggling. First Trask losing to Baker, who is heads and shoulders a better QB, is now Bowles’ fault Bc Trask hasn’t gotten a chance to play with the first team? Secondly Bridgewater should be #2 and Trask #3?! What a poor take, did anyone see how well Trask played in game 1 with talent around him and a decent line? I thought Trask solidified #2 spot against the Titans. Thirdly how does Tez’s mistake instantly make Greene better? Shouldn’t we get a bigger sample size for this competition? Both look good as returners and I’m sure Tez is better in some areas and visa versa. Too soon to banish one or the other to the practice squad. Greene may be more versatile which Todd does like. And finally not every injury and mistake by every player is Todd’s fault. Some shît just happens and we deal with it and move on.
One thing is for sure, Rak Jarret is not making the team. How many drops did he have?
August 17th, 2025 at 6:56 pm
One of the reasons I’m persuaded to believe preseason games are somewhat valuable.
August 17th, 2025 at 10:06 pm
That was absolutely not a drop by Tez on that one passing play, the guy is running full speed and the ball is placed directly over his head – if he catches that it’s an insane catch as he’d basically have to snare it out of the air when he can’t even see the ball. Even Dave Moore on radio, who is pretty hard on the Bucs receivers when it comes to what he calls drops, said that pass has to be in front, if he makes that catch, it’s a ridiculously good catch and certainly is not a drop.
August 17th, 2025 at 10:43 pm
Tez is like Dardung. A feel good cheer for guy. But he sucks. Is gonna suck. He’s an idiot in game situations. Like his head coich
August 18th, 2025 at 1:12 am
Some players suck.
Kyle has in five years proven to the professionals who watch him everyday that, he sucks.
Dwarfey Johnson proved he’s worse than Dexter Jackson II from app state, only worse, he sucks worse.
August 18th, 2025 at 8:21 am
big mistake. keep greene.
August 18th, 2025 at 4:46 pm
Wife is wrong with every? Trask looked far better last week. And Bridgewater looked average at best as a veteran that was in the league for 10+ years and did jack…..