Keyshawn Johnson can finally say he is a member of the Dallas Cowboys.
Joey Galloway signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday to complete the requirements for the trade that sends Johnson to Dallas.
"I'm excited," Johnson said. "It's giving me another opportunity to do what I do best, which is play football and enjoy and have fun doing it. I know what I'm dealing with as a head coach and an owner and assistant coaches and position coaches. [Receivers coach] Todd Haley and [offensive coordinator] Mo Carthon, I know them and they know me. ... We've made good music together, as Jerry [Jones] would say."
The deal had been in the works for weeks. Johnson had long ago agreed on a four-year deal worth $20 million and a $4.5 million signing bonus.
When the Bucs suspended Johnson for the rest of the season last year, they knew they were not going to keep the player for this season. So they began looking to see how they could replace him on the roster.
"What we knew [is] we needed to find another receiver that would complement the receivers that we have on this team," Tampa Bay general manager Bruce Allen said. "So, we looked around and the guy who really just jumped off the page and the videotape is Joey Galloway."
But the Bucs low-balled Galloway with a one-year deal worth $1 million. He refused.
Not until earlier this week did the Bucs up the ante. After a visit with head coach Jon Gruden, the Bucs offered Galloway a one-year deal worth $2 million plus another $600,000 in incentives. Galloway signed the deal with Dallas as Johnson had already signed his deal with Tampa Bay.
The two teams then traded the players with their contracts to complete the transaction.
Johnson returns to the coach where he has had his most success. In the three years he played for Bill Parcells with the New York Jets – and had Haley and Carthon as assistants – Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl twice. His catch and yardage total increased every season to a high of 89 catches for 1,170 yards in 1999.
The deal ends a four-year experiment between Galloway and the Cowboys that was less than worthy of the two first-round picks Dallas gave to Seattle in exchange for the speedy wide receiver.
Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones acquired Galloway to give Troy Aikman a deep threat on offense.
But Galloway tore his knee up in the first game of his inaugural season in Dallas and missed the remainder of the season.
The following off-season saw Aikman retire from football and head to the FOX announcing booth for the NFL.
A turnstile of quarterbacks followed that was as bad for Galloway’s performance as it was for the rest of the team.
Jones admits the lack of continuity at quarterback hurt Galloway.
"I have never in my career been one to say anything negative about any one of my teammates, and that's including the quarterbacks," Galloway said. "We weren't successful there, we didn't win enough, we weren't good enough on offense, and that's really all I have to say about that."
Galloway’s numbers in Dallas total to 151 passes for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns in 48 games.
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