Free agent defensive lineman Michael Johnson is going back to the Cincinnati Bengals. He agreed to a deal with the team on Sunday.
The deal is for four years and comes after Johnson spent last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after spending his first five seasons with the Bengals. Johnson had signed a five-year, $43.8 million with the Buccaneers, but he was released after one year. He will still get $7 million in guaranteed money this year, and the move freed up $2 million in cap space for the Buccaneers, according to ESPN. The Bengals will get a third-round compensatory pick in this year’s draft as a result of losing Johnson last year.
"Our entire organization is just ecstatic about getting Mike back," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement. "He's earned tremendous respect from coaches, teammates and management. He did tremendous things for us while he was here, and we look forward to having him blend back in and uplift us as defensive football team."
Johnson played with the Bengals from 2009 to 2013. During that time he had 26.5 sacks. He has struggled the past couple of years as he’s had to deal with injuries. In the last two years Johnson has just 7.5 sacks, but he had a career-best 11.5 sacks in 2012, according to NFL.com. Last year with the Buccaneers he had just four sacks while dealing with injuries.
Johnson had visited with the Minnesota Vikings after he was released by the Buccaneers. However the Bengals were the favorite to get him and he decided to go back to the Bengals.