![]() Instead, Sweeney and Morris will be getting that opportunity. There was even talk that he could be the lone tight end in certain situations so that the Bills could take some of the workload off Knox who played more than 75% of the offensive snaps last season. Plus, he could be a legitimate red zone option. When the Bills signed him in March, they thought his superior size - 6-foot-6 and 251 pounds - and athleticism would play well in two-tight end formations because he has been a good blocker in the past. Last year, Howard was behind both Gronkowski and Cameron Braite most of the season and caught only 14 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown. But he suffered an Achilles injury early in 2020 which cost him the rest of that season, one where the Bucs went on to win the Super Bowl with Tom Brady at quarterback and his old pal, Rob Gronkowski, as the starting tight end. The 2019 first-round draft pick of the Buccaneers was a contributor for his first three seasons (94 catches for 1,456 yards and 12 TDs in 38 games). So, it was a lot of growing pains for me, but I’d rather them happen right now than later on during the season.” I think as training camp went on, I got a chance to play faster and kind of learn the terminology a lot better. ![]() “Being in a new offense, just being able to be put in a lot of different situations, a lot of positions, just learning different calls and picking up on alerts – that was good for me. “It was a lot of learning experiences for me,” Howard said. However, Howard never really moved the needle after that and just Monday, Howard told the Buffalo News that he was struggling to learn the Bills’ offense, particularly the terminology, and it was forcing him to play slower than he would have liked. Last year it was Jacob Hollister who was cut and eventually signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars where he played seven games and caught nine passes for 55 yards.īack on July 27, so very early in camp, offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said of Howard, “I love O.J., I’m glad he’s here, and I think he’s going to continue to grow in our offense and the more comfortable he gets the faster he’s going to play and the more physical he’s going to play and I’m excited with the direction he’s going.” This is the second year in a row the Bills have signed a veteran tight end to be Dawson Knox’s primary backup who did not make the team. John Fisher University when Howard was barely noticeable in practice, and backups Tommy Sweeney and Quintin Morris were making plays when they had the opportunities.Īnd when the preseason games started, once again, outside of the touchdown catch he made in the second quarter of the second game against Denver, Howard did almost nothing.Įven more damning, though, is that he was still in all three games in the fourth quarter at a time when the field is usually filled with rookies and young veterans who are ultimately headed for the waiver wire, not a sixth-year veteran who signed a one-year, nearly fully guaranteed $3.5 million free agent contract. ![]() ![]() The writing was on the wall for Howard’s release as far back as the first week of camp at St. ![]()
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