Stevie Johnson Trade: Buffalo Bills Send Receiver To San Francisco 49ers For Draft Pick

Stevie Johnson is headed home after the Buffalo Bills traded the wide receiver to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2015 draft pick.

Johnson, a San Francisco native, will now join a team at that reached the Super Bowl in 2012 and was one play away from returning last season.

Many had speculated that the Bills could be looking to unload Johnson, who brings a big cap hit in the coming year and has just one season left on his contract. That speculation grew even more when the Bills traded up to the No. 4 pick in the NFL draft to take wide receiver Sammy Watkins.

The Bills will receive an unspecified pick in the 2015 NFL draft in exchange for Stevie Johnson. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that the pick is a conditional fourth rounder that could become a third rounder if certain stipulations are met.

The 27-year-old Johnson took a step back in 2013, ending the year with 52 receptions for 597 yards and three touchdowns in just 12 games. He missed several games with injury and was excused from the last two contests after the death of his mother.

Prior to 2013, Stevie Johnson became the first wide receiver in Buffalo Bills history to notch three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons.

The Bills now have one of the youngest receiving corps in the league, with second-year players Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin likely to be getting major playing time beside Watkins. The Bills also acquired veteran Mike Williams through free agency.

“Stevie was a great contributor during his career with our organization,” Bills general manager Doug Whaley said in a statement. “Today’s decision was not an easy one to make, especially involving a player like Stevie, who leaves everything he has on the field and is an emotional leader in our locker room.”

The Stevie Johnson trade will likely give the 49ers a boost, shoring up a weakness in the wide receiver position and possibly giving the team a leg-up needed to return to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.