| | He has played in New York, and his hometown is Los Angeles, but Keyshawn
Johnson figures he won't disappear from the limelight as the newest member of
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"I'm not afraid of the market here because as far as I'm concerned we're
not talking about just Tampa, but the whole state of Florida," said Johnson.
"And I look at the (Bucs') schedule. ... I see seven national TV games, and
that doesn't even count the playoffs.
"I mean, I'll miss some parts of the city life, but I'll get to spend
more time with my kids and save some money on (state) taxes."
Johnson spoke with ESPN.com around 9 a.m. Wednesday from Orlando, Fla,
before heading for Tampa to sign a contract that will include a $13 million
signing bonus, before taxes. The deal will pay him an average of almost $6.6
million per year over seven or eight years, according to Johnson, depending
on which contract he signed.
"There's actually three different proposals, and I'll sign whichever one
is most appealing," said Johnson. "We're talking about structure, which one
is the best, but it's finished. I'm a Buccaneer."
Johnson also said that he has no trepidation about playing with an
unproven quarterback in Shaun King.
"Except for Vinny (Testaverde), I've never played with a great
quarterback," said Johnson. "I mean, even in college (USC), Rob Johnson was a
good quarterback, but he was hurt a lot. But, in New York, I've had Neil
(O'Donnell), (Glenn) Foley, Frank Reich, then Neil again, then Ray Lucas,
Foley again, Testaverde, Rick Mirer and Lucas again.
"I'm not afraid of Shaun King. He doesn't have to drop back like Dan
Marino and John Elway and hit me with a perfect spiral 60 yards downfield. He
just has to let me do my work. Put the ball in my hands, and I'll rack up the
yards after the catch. I don't have to catch a 100 balls. I"m happy with 70,
as long as we win. Seventy rocks me a whole lot if we're winning."
The Jets plan to use all four first-round draft picks to fill holes on
both sides of the ball. One of those holes is receiver, now that Johnson is
gone. The Jets did call the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday to inquire about
disgruntled receiver Carl Pickens. The Jets may have to part with their
second-round pick, or possibly their last first rounder (27th), to land
Pickens, who would have to restructure his contract.
"If Carl Pickens goes to New York with his reputation and that media, he will
better be a player," said Johnson.
Johnson said he believes that new Jets coach Al Groh was the catalyst
behind the trade, despite ex-coach Bill Parcells' role as a facilitator of
the deal.
"What people don't know is that Parcells worked hard for two years to get
a new deal for me, I kid you not," said Johnson. "It almost got to the point
where I gave money back to get out, cut the deal shorter, but it just didn't
happen. It was crazy. No, Bill didn't really do this, and I know Bill
Belichick wouldn't have done this.
"Groh's a pure defensive coach. I guess signing (linebacker) Mo Lewis is
more important. That's OK. I don't resent it. It works out for me, it works
out for Tampa, and it works for the Jets. They get what they want. They've
got four (first-round) picks."
Johnson said he knew a trade was inevitable because, "They never sent me
my usual offseason package, you know, the playbook, the workout stuff. I
never met the new owner (Woody Johnson), and Al Groh and I haven't talked for
a month. Plus, they really rushed us to get this thing done with Tampa. All
we heard from them the last couple of days was, 'You better get this done. You
can't come back here.'
"Well, they got their wish, didn't they?"
And Johnson's got his money. | |
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Keyshawn, in Tampa, already dons Bucs' jersey
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