With a minute remaining in the second quarter of Saturday night's preseason finale, rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson twisted his body while falling backward to snag a one-yard touchdown from quarterback Kyle Trask.
But the acrobatics he showcased on the catch paled in comparison to what he did next.
The former Oregon Duck took a few steps, then launched into a handspring, followed by a flip.
"Ever since I got drafted, I said I was going to hit the back flip or I'm jumping in the crowd, I'm doing one of those," said Johnson. "The backflip came right to my head as soon as I scored. I didn't think I would get that high, I just had a lot of momentum. It felt really good."
The touchdown, and the eye-catching celebration, shouldn't overshadow everything else Johnson did in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 23-19 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the preseason finale. The rookie caught eight passes on just eight targets for 58 yards, leading all players on the field Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium in both categories.
"We got him moving with his speed and athleticism and we got the ball in his hands sort of like a returner, which was great because he can get away from people and get downfield," said Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles. "He's very elusive that way. Kyle [Trask] found a way to get him the ball. 'Grizz' (Offensive Coordinator Josh Grizzard) did a great job of scheming up how we can get him the football and they connected."
Six of those catches came in the second quarter, where he was targeted early and often by Trask. The duo showed off their rapport, with Trask finding Johnson for key third down conversions on both of the Bucs' scoring drives. According to Johnson, though, that chemistry was nothing new.
"Me and Kyle [have] been connecting ever since we got into camp," said Johnson. "So, he's a really great quarterback [and] throws a really good ball. I trust Kyle in the field, and obviously, he trusts me to be where I'm supposed to be. That connection tonight was just normal practice routine stuff. And like I said, we just connect really well."
The performance capped a strong offseason for the seventh-round pick.
Johnson was lauded as one of the steals of the draft after falling to pick 235 despite an impressive resume. The transfer from Troy posted 2,080 yards and 20 touchdowns in his two seasons at Oregon, including 181 and a score in his MVP performance in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Johnson proceeded to turn heads at training camp, earning praise for his after-the-catch ability and working his way up to second-team spots at receiver, kick returner and punt returner on the team's initial depth chart.
After missing the Bucs' first preseason game, Johnson posted four catches for 24 yards, in addition to a highlight-reel 34-yard punt return, in last week's 17-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"He really grew from last week to this week – understanding the little things," said Bowles. "He made some plays. He played fast and he played like he knew what he was doing."
Johnson's after-the-catch ability was on full display Saturday. On a third down in the first quarter, Johnson caught a pass darting inside before planting his foot, turning outside and making the defender miss to pick up the first down. He repeated the trick minutes later, coming back toward Trask to catch a pass before turning on a dime to send the defender flying by.
With his first NFL preseason now in the books, Johnson said he isn't taking the experience he got across the two exhibition games for granted.
"It was really good [to] just getting your feet wet in the NFL, period," Johnson said. "It's something that you dream of [and when] you have opportunities like that – you have three preseason games to show them why they drafted you. It's something that you take pride in and don't take it for granted for sure."
