Buccaneers prove faulty reasoning with receiver versus Cowboys

If the Buccaneers cut Tyler Johnson due to special teams reasons, why weren’t his replacements held to the same standard by the staff?

The Buccaneers cutting Tyler Johnson in the moment did not make much sense. After seeing the Bucs play their first game of the season, that decision makes even less sense than before.

Johnson may not be a world beater or anything crazy, but he was the best receiver on the field for the Bucs during the preseason over the largest sample size. To further Johnson’s case, he improved over his first two years in the league and was able to show growth with volume.

Why would the Bucs cut someone who had 529 yards and two touchdowns on 66.7% catching that was still on a rookie deal? Johnson wasn’t going to start, but he did look great as a depth receiver.

The Bucs cited Johnson’s abilities as a special teams player as why he was cut, but the first week didn’t really show that as a requirement for Tampa’s depth receivers.

Not only did Perriman fail to connect with Brady on three passes, but he only played five reps on special teams. Scotty Miller wasn’t even active for the game.

To put this number in perspective, Tyler Johnson averaged five special teams reps per game during the 2021 season and had several games with more than ten snaps on ST.

Perriman had some great moments for the Bucs during the 2019 season and with a great catch to beat the Bills, but Johnson has been a better and cheaper receiver for the Bucs over the past two seasons.

The decision from the Bucs never made sense, and the reasoning has only made matters worse. Perriman could still go on to have a great season for Tampa, but let’s not pretend that this all came down to special teams as the Buccaneers said.

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