Tampa Bay Buccaneers Need Bounce-Back Season from Michael Johnson in 2015By Luke Easterling Feb 13, 2015 
Cliff McBride/Getty Images The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been known for making a splash in free agency over the past few years, and last offseason was no exception.The prized catch of last year’s free-agent class for the Bucs was defensive end Michael Johnson, who was the top available player at a huge position of need. Tampa Bay has struggled to find that feared edge-rusher since the days of Simeon Rice, and Johnson was viewed as their best chance to land such a difference-maker.But Johnson’s performance in 2014 left much to be desired, as the former Cincinnati Bengal registered just four sacks all season. Multiple injuries nagged at him throughout the year, but Johnson was still able to start 13 of 16 games, yet he was largely ineffective when it came to getting after the quarterback on a regular basis.
USA TODAY Sports Johnson failed to live up to high expectations last season. When the Bucs inked Johnson to a five-year, $43-million deal, they were surely expecting to get a version of Johnson closer to the one of 2012, when he posted 11.5 sacks for the Bengals. Instead, it seems they got the one that averaged less than five sacks per year over the other four seasons Johnson spent in Cincinnati.After managing just 35 sacks as a team in 2013, Tampa Bay threw plenty of money at Johnson to help them improve that number considerably. Yet, at the end of the 2014 season, the Bucs got to the quarterback just 36 times, good enough for 21st in the NFL.Heading into the 2015 season, Tampa Bay is left wondering what it truly has in Johnson, who posted just 27 tackles in 2014—his lowest total since a rookie season in which he didn’t start a single game.According to Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times, Johnson knows that while his injuries held him back during his first season in Tampa Bay, he can’t make excuses for his lack of production:“I'm not going to put an asterisk on it. I suited up, and every time you suit up, what you put on tape is you. What I put on tape this year is who I was this year. It wasn't up to my standards and definitely wasn't what I expected for this year. But it's over now. There's nothing I can do about that but use it as fuel to go into this offseason and attack it, have the best offseason I've ever had, preparation-wise, and come in and have the best regular season I've ever had. That's my goal, that's what I'm looking forward to and what I'm going to do."The Bucs did get an unexpected boost in the pass rush department from waiver-wire wonder Jacquies Smith, who racked up 6.5 sacks over the final eight games of the season. James might still be best suited for a situational role, but Tampa Bay clearly got more bang for their buck out of the relative unknown than they did from their big-ticket free-agent addition.Some have predicted the Bucs will cut their losses with Johnson this offseason and send him packing after just one season, but I find that highly unlikely. Cutting Johnson would save the Bucs $2 million against the cap, but it would cost them $7 million in dead money in 2015, according to Spotrac. Throw in the lack of depth Tampa Bay has on a unit that will likely see Adrian Clayborn not return, and there are very few signs that point to cutting Johnson as a sensible course of action.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Johnson had his moments in 2014, including an impressive first half against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Week 16. That leaves the Bucs desperately needing a bounce-back season from Johnson, who was expected to benefit greatly from lining up on the same defensive line as Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. McCoy made 13 starts of his own in 2014, but more than doubled up Johnson in sacks with 8.5.Johnson did show some encouraging signs down the stretch last season, including an impressive Week 16 performance in the first half against the Packers, during which he consistently harassed league MVP Aaron Rodgers, sacking him once and forcing a fumble.The first step toward success for Johnson in 2015 is getting his health back to 100 percent, something he’s well aware of, per Auman:“I just want to take this time to get as healthy as possible. I'm excited about this offseason. It's going to be a big one for me. It's going to be a great year next year, and next year starts now."With Clayborn not likely to return, the Bucs are expected to add another defensive end, either in free agency or early in this year’s draft. But regardless of what other improvements they make to the unit, what Tampa Bay needs more than anything is for Johnson to live up to his potential as both a pass-rusher and every-down run-stuffer.If he can’t turn things around in 2015, Johnson will likely add his name to an ever-growing list of big-money free-agent busts that have come through One Buc Place over the past three years, and he could find himself back on the open market much sooner than he anticipated.link
