What a different kind of summer for Ty Johnson.
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July 26, 2023: When the Buffalo Bills reported to training camp in Pittsford, Johnson was a free agent, wondering if he could latch on with any team.
July 23, 2024: When the Bills report to training camp in Pittsford, Johnson – after a postseason that included 15 rushing attempts – will compete for a regular role as the No. 2 tailback.
“It feels really great,” he told The Buffalo News last month. “(This time) last year, I was rehabbing a torn (pectoral muscle) and didn’t really know what my future was. Now, it’s a great privilege to be back.”
Johnson, 26, earned the right to return to the Bills on a one-year contract he signed March 19.
Last season, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen threw for 4,306 yards and 29 touchdowns and ran for another 524 yards and 15 touchdowns.
In a combined 12 regular season/playoff games, Johnson carried 45 times for 195 yards and is the returning player of an otherwise overhauled backup tailback depth chart.
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The Bills released Nyheim Hines, who didn’t play last year (knee injury), didn’t re-sign veteran Latavius Murray and saw Damien Harris (neck) retire. After keeping Johnson, the Bills drafted Ray Davis and signed undrafted free agent Frank Gore Jr.
“Having the opportunity to come back, I do feel like my confidence is there,” Johnson said.
Johnson signed with the Bills on Aug. 21 and spent the first six weeks on the practice squad. In his first four games, he played two offensive snaps (four kickoff returns).
But still …
“It's been awesome,” Buffalo Bills quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “I mean, I was gone for two years, but it feels like it really flew by. But the fact that they wanted me back here and it just feels like coming back home. I feel really comfortable.”
“To be honest, I was just happy to be out there,” Johnson said. “I was confident in the playbook and knowing what my assignments were.”
Johnson closed the regular season with 16, 11, 16, 20, 13 and 13 snaps in his final six games, and 15 and 21 snaps in the Bills’ two playoff games.
Johnson carried eight times for 26 yards in the wild-card win over Pittsburgh and seven times for 40 yards in the divisional loss to Kansas City.
Can personal momentum carry over?
“We’ll have to wait and see,” Johnson said with a laugh.
Who will replace Harty as the primary punt returner? Who will replace Neal as gunner? Those aren’t the only questions that special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley needs to find answers for, either.
Johnson entered the NFL in 2019 as a sixth-round pick by Detroit. He played all 16 games (one start) in 2019 and carried a career-high 63 times. The Lions released him in October 2020, then he spent time with the New York Jets for nearly three years.
Last offseason, Johnson sustained the aforementioned pectoral injury while training, and the Jets released him on April 26, 2023. In a social media post, Johnson said he informed the Jets of his injury and was instructed to get surgery, leading him to think he would remain under contract. Alas, Johnson was without a team for nearly four months.
Healthy this offseason, Johnson said he split his training between Bommarito Performance Systems in Davie, Fla., and his home in Cumberland, Md. Emphasis on “training,” not “rehabbing.”
“The work is the work,” he said. “I have to keep putting that in and taking care of my body and learning more and being able to do more things on the field.”