O.J. Howard entered the NFL in 2017 with some lofty expectations.
As a first-round draft pick out of Alabama, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Howard 19th overall with the hope he would develop into a Rob Gronkowski-like weapon for their offense.
As fate would have it, however, before Howard played out his five-year rookie contract, he wound up playing behind Gronk in Tampa Bay.
That, coupled with some nagging ankle problems and a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in 2020, meant Howard never quite met those expectations in Tampa Bay.
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Howard missed the final two games of his rookie season and the final six games of his second year after suffering ankle injuries in back-to-back seasons. He also missed two games in 2019 because of a hamstring injury.
He appeared to finally be healthy at the start of the 2020 season. With the Bucs having signed quarterback Tom Brady in the offseason, Howard got off to a solid start, catching 11 passes for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns. A ruptured Achilles suffered in Week 4 against the Chargers, however, ended Howard’s season early, causing him to miss Tampa Bay’s journey to a Super Bowl championship.
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“They were always the same injuries – my ankles,” Howard said. “I kept having the same injuries every year, so it was like ‘is it my cleats? Is it my shoes, what is it? Why am I having these ankle injuries every year?’ Then I had the Achilles, which is also considered an ankle (injury). It was like three years in a row, and it was three times I had the same injury.”
Even though he wasn’t 100% at the start of the 2021 season, Howard was able to find a routine that involved working on the mobility of his ankles. That allowed him to play in every game in the regular season for the first time in his career, even though he said it took until Week 6 for him to finally feel like himself again.
“It was frustrating, but sometimes you do have to learn the hard way by getting injured to figure out your body,” Howard said. “So that's something that I kind of hopefully have pushed over to the side and got over with in my career I got so much better this past season just literally practicing every day and getting those reps and practice and staying healthy.”
Despite playing in all 17 games in 2021, Howard finished with just 14 catches for 135 yards and one touchdown. He played 31% of the offensive snaps, third on the Bucs at tight end behind Gronkowski and Cameron Brate.
Gronkowski, who has dealt with his fair share of injuries in a Hall of Fame career, ended up being a sounding board for Howard.
“I learned more from Rob off the field than on the field,” Howard said. “I've watched him and talked to him about injuries because he's had a lot in his career. So, we kind of did a regimen where I would go hang out with him and we would take care of our bodies together all week long, and then do things off the field. … He taught me all about that -- different hacks to get warmed up. So that's definitely something I stole from him.”
In signing a one-year contract with the Bills last month, Howard, 27, has welcomed the chance to hit reset on his career.
“Going through the season and seeing how things played out, not getting much playing time, it was starting to get in my head like, ‘Hey, let’s just keep getting better. Chances are going to come in the offseason, you’re going to get a new start to flip the chapter,’ ” he said. “I came in with so many goals and expectations and didn't really get a chance to accomplish anything that I wanted. But that's part of it, you have to fail and learn from it. I'm glad that happened at a young part of my career. I got a lot of ball left to play.”
The Bills have made a big investment in sports science. That, along with a big investment in a state-of-the-art training facility, has helped make the franchise one of the healthiest in the NFL over the past few seasons.
“I did the research on it before I came and signed here,” Howard said. “I looked at the YouTube videos and I saw the facility and it amazed me because the first thing that jumped out was kind of like of a college, like Alabama. You don't usually see this from NFL organizations.”
Of course, there was more to just the facilities behind Howard’s decision to come to the Bills.
“When you look on paper, the team is amazing,” he said. “We just signed Von (Miller), one of the greatest pass rushers to do it. … Now, it’s all about putting the working in, because on paper, you can have the best team, but the work has to come first. These guys were already working hard before I got here, so I know it's going to get done. I think now it's just time for us to take the next step. The leaders on this team, they know that because they've been so close for two years. I've had a chance to be a part of a championship team before, so I know how it feels to win.”
The Bills are making a low-risk gamble that Howard can regain the form that made him a first-round pick coming out of Alabama. His one-year deal carries a maximum value of $3.5 million if he hits all of its incentives.
“Obviously, a highly touted guy coming out a few years ago,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “He was high on our radar then and obviously was when the chance came up here to circle back and try to get him again. A big, tall body that can get down the seam and box people out, so we’ll just see ... I know to this point maybe he hasn’t been able to do what people thought that he would do coming out, so again, I think just getting him under our roof and getting him to a spot where he’s having fun playing football again and become the best version of himself.”
Not since he chose to go to Alabama for college has Howard had a chance to pick where he was going to play.
“It doesn't come often,” he said. “You to take advantage of your opportunities, and this one couldn't even be better for me. I'm just so thankful. I put it all in perspective, just enjoying the moment. it's always good for a fresh start sometimes.”
