Update:
Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com reports that the Lions are sending DE George Johnson and the seventh-round pick they received in the Haloti Ngata trade from the Ravens to Buccaneers for their fifth-round pick this year.
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Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that the Lions have agreed to trade restricted free agent DE George Johnson and a low-round pick to the Buccaneers for a late-round selection.
- Stroud mentions that the deal has not yet been approved by the NFL, but there is an agreement between the two parties.
This is an interesting turn of events given that the Buccaneers had signed Johnson to a three-year deal worth $9 million. The Lions later contested the offer sheet and it was headed to an independent arbitrator, who was set to rule on the validity of the offer within the next 10 days.
However, it appears as though the two sides were able to reach an agreement on a trade that will give the Lions some compensation for losing the defensive end.
Detroit elected to use a low-round on Johnson back in early March that would have paid him a salary of around $1.54 million for the 2015 season. However, the Lions wouldn’t have received a draft pick if the Buccaneers signed him to an offer sheet.
Johnson, 28, 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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