While the Bills likely already plugged his hole in the lineup, Kevin Johnson won’t be returning to the team next season now.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, cornerback Kevin Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns. Per the report, it’s an incentive based deal woth $3.5 million which could jump up to $6 million, depending on performance.
Johnson signed a one-year “prove-it” deal with the Bills last season for $3 million.
With the addition of Josh Norman, it seemed unlikely the Bills would sign another cornerback. While Johnson’s $3.5 is close to his former contract, the Bills might have been not interested in giving Johnson such incentives, or playing time.
Prior to joining the Bills, Johnson had a long list of injuries with the Texans, but managed to stay healthy with Buffalo in 2019, appearing in all 16 games. Johnson provided a depth role, but also pushed fellow cornerback Levi Wallace for his starting job. The two, at times, split playing time with Wallace getting slightly more. With that rotation in mind, he did only play in 32 percent of the Bills’ defensive snaps last season, so maybe that’s why his contract has certain incentives.
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