NFL: Bucs players not worried about life after Johnson

Rich McKay, the Bucs' general manager, said he did not hear about Johnson's actions until after he had decided on Tuesday to deactivate Johnson for the rest of the season. Yet it did serve to reinforce his decision, based largely on the assertion that Johnson had become a divisive presence because he no longer wanted to play for Tampa Bay, the defending Super Bowl champion.

After the defeat to the Packers dropped the Bucs' record to 4-6, coach Jon Gruden called a mandatory team workout for Monday. Johnson -- traded from the New York Jets for two first-round picks four seasons ago -- didn't show, later saying he never realized it was a required session. That was when talks between McKay and Gruden began to intensify about removing Johnson from the active roster.

Fellow receiver Keenan McCardell said that Johnson's locker room remarks, which sometimes involved saying he would not return to Tampa Bay in 2004, did not bother him, but were not well-received by some others.

"Most of the things I hear go in one ear and out the other," McCardell said. "It was just a way for him to vent. But when you're losing, you can't do that around here. It kind of brings more negativity around."

Ronde Barber, the Bucs' Pro Bowl cornerback, noted that earlier in the season, many members of the Bucs said that Johnson's comments were not a distraction. "But the reality is they were a distraction because it took us away from winning football games," Barber said during a teleconference Wednesday with his twin brother, Tiki, the New York Giants' running back, previewing next Monday night's Bucs-Giants game.

Strong safety John Lynch talked about how much he respected Johnson. "However, I feel it got to the point where it was clear he didn't want to be here," Lynch said. "I think he wanted to be a good team guy and to continue to put forth the effort, but I think that's what makes this such a great game -- that if your heart's not in it, it doesn't work."

With the Bucs' season fading, the game against the Giants represents one last lifeline for their playoff hopes. "One bone and two dogs" was how defensive end Greg Spires described the game between the two disappointing teams.

Defensive end Simeon Rice said so much has happened to the Bucs this season that Johnson's sudden departure didn't cause much of a ripple for him. "At some point you have to say, 'So what?' and move on," Rice said.

Quarterback Brad Johnson, who called Keyshawn Johnson on Tuesday night to wish him well, said he was viewing this as just another player lost to injury in this injury-riddled season.

"It's over now," the quarterback said. "We move on. What can you do? He can't help us, he can't hurt us now."

Johnson was deactivated two days after fellow receiver Joe Jurevicius returned from a lengthy injury absence. That made Johnson more expendable.

Still, the Bucs could not have released Johnson and stayed within the NFL's salary cap. Dropping Johnson would have triggered a $6.51 million cap hit on Johnson's $13 million signing bonus, putting the Bucs about $6 million over the cap.

So the club must wait until the off-season to gauge any trade interest. With the way things are going, the off-season figures to be here a lot sooner than most people once thought.