Joe Buscaglia of WGR 550 in Buffalo reiterates that the Bills could begin shopping veteran WR Stevie Johnson now that they’ve added Clemson WR Sammy Watkins.
- Buscaglia reported Thursday that Buffalo would try to trade Johnson if they were to come away with a receiver.
Buscaglia points out that the Bills have five receivers currently on their roster and will owe Johnson a lot of money over the next three years.
According to Buscaglia, Johnson and HC Doug Marrone have clashed at times, which could also factor into the team’s decision to eventually move on.
Buscaglia mentions that contending teams could have interest in Johnson, but adds that it will be important for them to have an adequate amount of cap space to complete a deal. In fact, there’s actually a good chance that a new team would require Johnson to restructure his contract upon reaching an agreement.
Buscaglia suggests a low fourth or low fifth-round pick for a contender and a high fifth or a high sixth-round pick for a team that’s not as competitive.
Johnson, 27, will be entering the third season of his five-year, $36.25 million contract and will make $3.65 million for the 2014 season.
It’s worth noting that the Bills wouldn’t see any actual saving in regards to their cap situation until 2015 and 2016 if they were to release him outright.
Johnson played in 12 games for the Bills this season where he caught 52 passes for 597 yards and three touchdowns. Pro Football Focus gave Johnson a positive rating in 2013, but it was still only good enough for No. 54 overall among qualifying receivers.
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Raiders here? They lost Watkins which they really wanted. Johnson is not as big of an impact as Watkins would of been but with the right QB I think can floures still.