Ex-Gopher Tyler Johnson lands in Houston after release from Bucs
Former Golden Gophers star wide receiver Tyler Johnson was claimed by the Houston Texans on Wednesday, one day after being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 24-year-old from Minneapolis was an immediate target for Minnesota fans thinking Johnson would be an upgrade over Ihmir Smith-Marsette and rookie Jalen Nailor, who currently hold the No. 4 and No. 5 spots on the WR depth chart behind Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen and KJ Osborn.
The Vikings were not awarded any waiver claims, though they did see Kellen Mond and Armon Watts, who were cut Tuesday, get picked up by the Browns and Bears, respectively.
In Houston, Johnson should have a chance to play a large role alongside the likes of Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins, Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett.
Johnson, who had 36 catches on 53 targets for 360 yards and no touchdowns last season, is the third former Gopher on Houston's roster, joining linebacker Blake Cashman and cornerback Eric Murray.
His final two seasons at the University Minnesota saw Johnson rack up a combined 164 catches for 2,487 yards and 25 touchdowns.
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Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.