When you think of great Tampa Bay Buccaneers players, who comes to mind? The obvious choices tend to be Tom Brady, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and even Simeon Rice. But what about Keyshawn Johnson? The former star wide-receiver enjoyed a short stint with the Buccaneers during the prime years of his career, but what he lacked in quantity he definitely gave back in quality.
Keyshawn Johnson was the first overall pick of the New York Jets in 1996, becoming the first wide receiver to be picked first overall since Irving Fryar in 1984 (New England Patriots). At the time, the Jets were being coached by Bill Parcells and had finished with an abysmal 1-15 record the season prior. With Johnson now in the line-up, the Jets had all the pieces to improve their situation; and they slowly did!
In Keyshawn’s first season with the Jets, the team improved to 9-7, as Johnson had 63 receptions, good for eight touchdowns. The season after was even better for the New York club, as they improved to an outstanding 12-4 record, and having had Johnson post close to a thousand receiving yards in the process (963). They would qualify for the play-offs and even go on to fall just one game short of the Super Bowl.
That off-season, the Jets entered a mini-rebuild and dealt Johnson to Tony Dungy and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had just lost in the Super Bowl. The team was looking to head back to the Super Bowl as quickly as possible, and they felt Johnson, an elite WR at this point, would be the best option to help them get there. As soon as the trade was completed the Bucs signed him to an eight-year/ $56 million contract extension, making Johnson the highest-paid wide-receiver at the time.
In his first full season with the team, Johnson posted eight touchdown catches. In his second, he only posted one, but posted a career-high for receiving yards, with 1,266. His third full year in a Bucs uniform is when he really began to hit his stride. That season he would eclipse the one thousand receiving yard marker for the second straight season, as well as scoring five touchdowns in the process.
This would also be the season where Keyshawn would have his dream of winning a Super Bowl come true. During the 2002 playoffs, the Buccaneers dominated, winning all their games by more than 20 points. Johnson did not have the playoffs he would have liked, but he still was able to contribute 194 yards and one touchdown in three games. The Bucs would go onto defeat the Raiders in the final game of the season 48-21, capturing their first franchise Super Bowl in dominant fashion.
Johnson would go on to spend one more season in Tampa Bay until he was eventually offloaded to the Dallas Cowboys the next season. In a recent interview, Johnson said that he will always be thankful to the Buccaneers because they gave him the two things every NFL player wants, “to get paid and get a ring”. You can’t go wrong with that!
What is your favorite Keyshawn Johnson moment? Let me know in the comments below!