The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that they’ve signed Lions restricted free agent DE George Johnson to an offer sheet, per Scott Smith.
- Mike Garafolo reports that the Buccaneers signed Johnson to a three-year deal worth $9 million.
Tampa Bay hosted Johnson for a visit last week, so it was clear that they could sign him to an offer sheet in the coming days. Detroit now has five days to match the Buccaneers offer.
The Lions elected to use a low-round on Johnson back in early March, which would pay him a salary of around $1.54 million for the 2015 season.
However, the Lions would receive no draft pick compensation should they pass on matching the Buccaneers’ offer sheet.
Johnson, 28, is originally signed on with the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers back in 2010.
Last year, Johnson appeared in all 16 games for the Lions and recorded 29 tackles, six sacks, a fumble recovery, and a pass defense. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 24 defensive end in a 4-3 system out of 59 qualifying players.
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