The Buffalo Bills have traded defensive end and special teams standout Darryl "Bam" Johnson to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2022 sixth round draft pick, the team announced on Monday.
The move comes as the Bills and all other NFL teams must trim their roster to 53 active players by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and somewhat alleviates a bit of the log jam the Bills have at defensive end.
Johnson came to the Bills as a seventh round draft pick (225th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft out of North Carolina A&T and made the team his rookie year out of training camp. His role on the Bills roster over the last two season has been based primarily on his ability to play special teams and be used as a depth end.
His role on the defense increased as last season went on, playing much more over the final six games of the regular season, even playing 40% or more in key games in December against the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots.
At 6-foot-6, 253 pounds and very long, Johnson offered an intriguing skill set both as a defensive lineman and special teams player. He was third on the team in 2020, logging over 57% of special teams' snaps.
However, with the additions of draft picks Greg Rousseau and Carlos "Boogie" Basham, as well as the signing of Efe Obada to go along with veterans Jerry Hughes and Mario Addison, it was an uphill battle for Johnson to make the club.
The Bills and Panthers have done business quite a bit since Bills general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott took over in Buffalo after both were in Carolina for several years. To add to those connections, former Bills Director of Player Personnel Dan Morgan is now the assistant general manager in Carolina, and obviously knows Johnson well.
Follow me on Twitter: @SalSports
