Bucs Breakout Returner Wins NFC Special Teams Player Of The Week

Bucs punt returner Kameron Johnson has won NFC Special Teams player of the week following Tampa Bay’s 23-20 win on the road over the Falcons to begin the season. It was quite the debut for Johnson, who played in five games last year as a rookie with one punt return, making his return in the 2025 opener the second of his NFL career in his second season.

Johnson’s 54-yard punt return in the third quarter of the game set the Bucs up with great field position at Atlanta’s 32-yard line. Five plays later and the Bucs scored to go up 17-10 at the time. The 54 yarder was the longest punt return by anybody in Week 1 of the NFL season.

This was the second longest punt return by the Bucs since 2015 when Bobby Rainey took one 58 yards in a game. That 2015 season was also the last time a returner won the award for Tampa Bay when Rainey did so until Johnson accomplished this with Sunday’s performance.

Also playing gunner on punt coverage for Tampa Bay, Johnson downed two footballs inside the 20 to help the team while also helping his case for Special Teams Player Of The Week. The Bucs won several weekly awards last season and Johnson gets them going early out of the gate this year.

Kameron Johnson Provided A Needed Boost For The Bucs

It was the third time that the Falcons had punted it back to Johnson, but the first attempt was a fair catch and the second punt went out of bounds. When Johnson finally got a chance to return a punt, he made the most of the opportunity. It created a spark that the Bucs were looking for at the time.

Bucs PR Kam Johnson – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Other teams will take notice of what Johnson did. He becomes an immediate threat for Tampa Bay anytime they are able to force a punt. The Bucs have many skillful players at the return game with Kameron Johnson and Tez Johnson along with Sean Tucker and Josh Williams. Following Week 1, Kameron Johnson proved he should be a mainstay on punt return.

Johnson had an uphill battle to climb just to make the team. He missed a majority of training camp and was only able to return for the Bucs’ third preseason game. Even then he did not do well as a receiver, having two drops, but a long kick return likely gave him a spot on the 53-man active roster.

If Johnson continues to deliver as a punt returner and a helpful special teams player on punt coverage, he’ll keep himself on the roster even when Jalen McMillan comes off of injured reserve later in the season. Tampa Bay has flipped the script with their special teams, giving them an advantage against others.