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| Johnson will be happy to hear that he's on the verge of singing a five-year deal. (Getty Images) |
In the past few weeks, the Bills haven’t seemed totally interested in keeping No. 1 receiver Stevie Johnson in Buffalo. They said they wouldn’t franchise tag Johnson, probably because the organization doesn’t feel he’s worthy of a $9.4 million, one-year deal, and at times, it seemed as if the team might let him walk without getting anything back in return.
But apparently that’s not the case as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported late Sunday night that Johnson and the Bills are on the verge of finalizing a five-year contract that should be completed “in the next 24 hours.”
In our free agent wide receiver rankings, Johnson was in the No. 8 slot, and though he's topped 75 catches, 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the past two seasons, he’s, at times, inconsistent and a celebration penalty-drawing nuisance.
So, you can understand why Buffalo might have been hesitant about signing him to a long-term deal.
For the record, however, Johnson plans on being more mature after catching touchdown passes from now on, saying he’s finished with scoring celebrations.
"But no matter what: I'm done with it,” Johnson said recently. “When I was doing my first couple seasons, I was just trying to be a relevant guy, you know? I think people are beginning to know who [No.] 13 is."
And now that Johnson is on the verge of signing his deal, it really is a Happy New Year for him after all.
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