Defensive end Michael Johnson agreed to a five-year, $43.75 million contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The contract includes $24 million in guarantees and plies the former Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher from a market quickly becoming bereft of elite defensive ends.
Johnson drew interest from multiple teams, including the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets.
Johnson gives the Buccaneers a lead defensive end to pair with defensive tackle Gerald McCoy in Leslie Frazier’s scheme, which stresses one-gap technique from the front four and puts Johnson in an unfamiliar role as a pass rusher. With the Bengals, his primary responsibility was occupying blockers and setting the edge against the run.
The Vikings gave Everson Griffen a $42.5 million, five-year deal with $20 million guaranteed. In tandem, the deals effective set the market for defensive ends in free agency.