The Haunting Ends; Bucs Cut Michael Johnson.
March 11th, 2015
Michael Johnson earned every bit of his ghost label
Michael Johnson was ghastly and ghostly, as invisible a player that’s ever signed a huge free agent contract for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Johnson played about five good quarters of football last season, earning “the apparition” nickname and causing Bucs fans to bang their collective heads against available slabs of concrete.
Now the pain is over, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Johnson can go ruin Sundays for some other fan base. The Bucs have cut him.
Joe can’t recall a player giving such lousy effort on so, so many snaps. It was dreadful.
Heck, Johnson’s own freaking agent threw him under the bus six weeks ago, saying he wasn’t a great pass rusher and would have been happier to stay in Cincinnati. When was the last time you heard an agent do that to his own client?
Former Buccaneers slapped Johnson publicly for lack of effort on several occasions during last season.
Was Johnson injured? Yes, for part of the season he was overcoming an ankle sprain. But when that healed, and Leslie Frazier said it did, Johnson was still invisible.
Joe hates to cheer a player getting cut, but Joe is doing that right now. When your team is 2-14, dead weight must be shed. And the Bucs did that today. Hooray!
March 11th, 2015 at 3:54 pm
Addition by subtraction.
March 11th, 2015 at 3:55 pm
Hmmmm Leonard Williams?? Interesting, maybe Glennon will be our quarterback this year.
March 11th, 2015 at 3:57 pm
WOW!!!!!! bucs must have signed the guys they brought in. im sure Michael Johnson was already hanging out in sunny Ohio lol….Anthony Collins now Johnson, this is starting to look like a better roster already
March 11th, 2015 at 3:59 pm
This franchise is a joke, we are getting blasted on twitter. Licht and Lovie are the butt of every joke, this is one miserable franchise. The icing on the cake will be they will draft Winston and he wont lastout his rookie contract. Thank you Glazers for this pathetic excuse for a franchise.
March 11th, 2015 at 3:59 pm
This guy is a jerk. He took his god given talent and pooped on it. He doesnt like god.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Just another reminder of what a pathetic waste last season (and likely this season) was.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:00 pm
What am I supposed to do with my #90 Tron jersey now?
March 11th, 2015 at 4:01 pm
I love all you Lovie shills insisted there was no choice.
It appears incompetent Lovie Smith and his lousy lapdog GM are putting the Bucs above their own egos. Let the healing begin
March 11th, 2015 at 4:02 pm
At least he doesn’t have to pick up his checks with a ski mask and a gun anymore
March 11th, 2015 at 4:02 pm
BirdDoggers Says:
March 11th, 2015 at 3:54 pm
Addition by subtraction.
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An expensive lesson nonetheless.
Amongst many.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
Time for FA players to stop coming to the Buccaneers for the high payday and not putting in 100% effort. Never felt Revis was “engaged” with the team even considering he had just come off of injury. Time for the Buccaneers to return to revelance again and rebuild Buccaneer pride!
March 11th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
Good. We would have owed him $7 million guarenteed in 2016 if we kept him; which is just stupid. Bad contract but gotta walk away; we also get $2 million more in cap space.
Hopefully they sign Morgan and/or Sheard and Melton. Then the D-line; while not elite; will have very solid depth and better edge rushers.
Signing Wiz to play Center and moving EDS to RG would be the best thing we can do in FA though I’d think.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:03 pm
MJ was awful, put on any game and watch him for a few series, its laughable. The bucs realized they overpaid and are now moving on.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
Does this mean their close to signing Sheard?
March 11th, 2015 at 4:04 pm
This fan base is a joke. You are getting blasted everywhere. No seriously. Love the move. Can’t wait for best Qb available and a better season next year. Please sign Hardy.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Twitter is full of Kevins. Does anybody care what a bunch of Kevins say?
March 11th, 2015 at 4:07 pm
Does this help our bargaining position with free agent DEs? On one hand they may think they can ask more as we are weak at the position. On the other hand it actually might make us more appealing as it opens up their chances of starting even more. With us letting Clay explore the market, letting Johnson go, it could seem wide open for a guy that wants to start. Maybe we sign someone and then bring Clay back for depth after we’ve landed our guy.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:07 pm
Yes, Hardy please.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:07 pm
I meant the jerk Kevin. Not the perfectly nice gentleman Kevin.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:11 pm
Yes! Yes! In di face! #Prince of Zamunda
March 11th, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Even Styles White gave a better effort!
March 11th, 2015 at 4:15 pm
This franchise is a f**king joke.
Horrible contract from the start.
Would have been nice if they could have just ate the extra $2 mil and let this p*ssy ride the pine all year, but the extra $7 million that would have been owed to him in 2016 made that impossible.
****Here is what I think is going to happen:
This p*ssy is going to sign elsewhere (probably CIN) double dip with his $7 mil guaranteed this year and probably go the Pro Bowl somehow. Just watch!
That is our luck/punishment for being Sucs’ fans.
How does Jason Licked look the Glazers in the face after such a failure.
He should be FIRED for this bullsh*t!!!
Go Sucs!!!!
March 11th, 2015 at 4:17 pm
Chef Paul Says:
March 11th, 2015 at 4:05 pm
Twitter is full of Kevins. Does anybody care what a bunch of Kevins say?
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Apparently Supersam does. lol
March 11th, 2015 at 4:22 pm
Oh, here’s a new one to add to the Sucs’ rule book:
– Never sign another FA from Cincinnati… Ever.
Put this rule in the page after – Never drafting another Clemson DE.
Why couldn’t I have been born a Patriot’s fan?
Go Sucs!
March 11th, 2015 at 4:27 pm
Remember all that “In Lovie we trust” nonsense and “we are a 4-12 football team” arrogant nod to Schiano? Then they changed the uniforms to that God-awful sht we pranced around in all year as we set losing records and led the race to the bottom of the port-a-potty.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:28 pm
I hope they plan on going extremely hard after Greg Hardy now.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:33 pm
Right decision…..dont need him taking up a roster spot!
March 11th, 2015 at 4:36 pm
#LeastMode
March 11th, 2015 at 4:49 pm
I was for keeping him until I learned something. Come Thursday, the other $2 mil would be locked in, but also $5 mil for next year.
That means they saved $7m by cutting him, even though most of it won’t be until next year.
So cutting him suddenly made more sense. Of course, I didn’t see it until yesterday.
Glad they did it.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:51 pm
After reading about 75 percent of these comments…I once again understand Tampa fans suck.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:52 pm
@NEWTAMPACHRIS- send your jersey to lovie with a thank you note. then tell him to shove it where the sun don’t shine.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:52 pm
[…] minutes after ghostly and ghastly Michael Johnson was cut today by the Buccaneers, captain Gerald McCoy took to […]
March 11th, 2015 at 4:57 pm
another player that made some greenbacks for doing nothing nice job L&L.
March 11th, 2015 at 4:59 pm
ALTHOUGH on L&Ls behalf he was one of the better free agents at his position supposedly.
March 11th, 2015 at 5:00 pm
@BuccaneerBonzai
You’re right, we do suck.
We continue to follow one of the worst franchises in the history of sports, year after year; and there’s nothing most of us can do about it.
Go Sucs!
March 11th, 2015 at 5:07 pm
can only get better people. I HOPE!
March 11th, 2015 at 5:07 pm
We knew which kevin you meant chef…..I loathe his presence here. Reminds me of that guy at work that everyone walks away from when he approaches.
Obviously a good move. Did anyone actually pay money for a MJ jersey? My condolences.
March 11th, 2015 at 5:08 pm
He looked soft as tissue in his press conference and I didn’t know what to make of it that he didn’t look tough at all but now I know it’s because her wasn’t
March 11th, 2015 at 5:23 pm
If you hate everything that is happening, why even subject yourself to being a fan of the team? You have 31 other options to choose from.
I have yet to see you post one positive thing.
Agreed.
And its not only directed at the fans that have an opposing opinion to mine.
smh. its just pathetic.
Not just one of the better. I believe NFL.com had him rated as the top FA DE last year.
March 11th, 2015 at 5:39 pm
There is no patience or tolerance to watch a underachieving bum player with little effort go through the motions like a walk-through drill on most of the plays for an entire season. It is one thing to not have the talent or experience and at least try to perform well but come up short because you are a below average player. It is another story when you lack character and self-pride choosing to slack away your reputation. There is no excuse. That is pure stealing when someone pays you in good faith to at least do your job. You can blame L&L for signing these past free agent failures but at least they tried and took a chance that they would work out. It is better than doing nothing with so many holes last year.Every team in the NFL has misses and hits in trades, free agency, and the draft.Rome wasn’t built overnight.
March 11th, 2015 at 5:46 pm
@CELLY yes you get what I meant. they took a shot it happens to every team once in a while. but it just sucks they cut two from last year a waste of time and money. but I think they are being more careful we shall see GO BUCS!
March 11th, 2015 at 6:28 pm
I think he got pancaked by a running back in one game I saw. Could have been a tight end. Either way, pathetic.
March 11th, 2015 at 6:59 pm
I’m happily surprised that Licht had the balls and brains to swallow his pride and waste a sh@t load of his bosses money and cut Michael Johnson… I applaud the move… This is something Mark Dominik could never do… Move on from a bad mistake…
Its refreshing to have a GM that puts winning ahead of his own ego…
Now let’s move on and build a winning franchise.
March 11th, 2015 at 7:52 pm
What boggles my mind is that we are letting Johnson n clayborne walk?? we have yet to bring in another DE yet?
March 11th, 2015 at 8:46 pm
^^^
Could mean Leonard Williams will be wearing pewter and red…and orange.
March 11th, 2015 at 11:58 pm
Good ridance. Go play for the Bungles. Never should have signed a guy who cant rush wide to rush wide in a Tampa freaking 2!
March 12th, 2015 at 2:31 pm
“The Haunting Ends”……This alone made me pee myself laughing. Joe you should be a comedian. Well to be honest like you said Joe, he earned this label big time…..but maaaan this tagline was priceless tho. Love the site bro, keep it up Joe!