Bug Howard

Johnathan "Bug" Howard[1] (born November 28, 1994) is an American football tight end for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at North Carolina.

Bug Howard
No. 80 – Philadelphia Stars
Position:Tight end
Personal information
Born: (1994-11-28) November 28, 1994
Rochelle, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Wilcox County
(Rochelle, Georgia)
College:North Carolina
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Howard, who was given the nickname "Bug" by his grandmother when he was a toddler, attended Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, Georgia.[2]

College career

Howard caught 22 passes in his freshman season at North Carolina.[3] Howard scored the first touchdown of the 2015 college football season, his junior year, when he caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Marquise Williams in their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks.[4]

In his four-year career at UNC, Howard played in 46 games. He caught 146 passes for 2,048 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.[5] He had just four dropped passes in four seasons at UNC.[6]

Statistics
YearTeam GPRecYdsAvgTD
2013 North Carolina 102227812.64
2014 North Carolina 124245510.82
2015 North Carolina 122948816.84
2016 North Carolina 125382715.68
Career 461462,04814.018

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

After going undrafted in the 2017 NFL Draft, Howard was signed as a free agent by the Indianapolis Colts.[7] He was waived by the Colts at the end of the 2017 preseason.[8]

Cleveland Browns

On September 26, 2017, Howard was signed to the Cleveland Browns' practice squad.[9] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Browns on January 1, 2018.[10] He was waived by the Browns on April 12, 2018.[11]

Carolina Panthers

On May 14, 2018, Howard signed with the Carolina Panthers.[12] He was waived on August 31, 2018, as part of final roster cuts.[13]

Atlanta Legends

On November 9, 2018, Howard signed with the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) for the 2019 season.[14]

Denver Broncos

After the AAF ceased operations in April 2019, Howard signed with the Denver Broncos on May 13, 2019, following a mini-camp tryout.[15] He was placed on injured reserve on August 21, 2019.[16] He was waived from injured reserve with an injury settlement on August 30, 2019. He was re-signed to the practice squad on December 4, 2019. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Broncos on December 31, 2019.[17] He was waived on April 27, 2020.[18]

Howard joined the Alphas of The Spring League for its 2020 Fall season.[19]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On December 14, 2020, Howard signed with the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars.[20] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 11, 2021.[21]

Buffalo Bills

On July 30, 2021, Howard signed with the Buffalo Bills.[22] He was waived on August 24, 2021.[23]

Philadelphia Stars

Howard was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League in the 18th round of the 2022 USFL draft.[24] He was placed on the "did not report" list on April 1,[25] but joined the team for training camp three days later.[26] He signed a contract with the team on April 7.[27]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On July 29, 2022, Howard signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[28] He was waived/injured on August 23 and placed on injured reserve.[29] He was released on August 30.

Philadelphia Stars (second stint)

On February 8, 2023, Howard signed with the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL) for his second stint with the team.[30] He was transferred to the team's inactive list on March 19, 2023.[31]

Statistics
USFL statistics[32]
Year Team Games Receiving Fumbles
GPGSRecYdsAvgLngTDFumLost
2022PHI 1083037112.441400
Career1083037112.441400

References
  1. "UNC Football: Get to Know Johnathan 'Bug' Howard". YouTube.com. UNC Tar Heels Athletics. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  2. "Indianapolis Colts: Bug Howard". Colts.com. Indianapolis Colts. Archived from the original on October 1, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  3. Ferenchick, Matt (April 16, 2017). "Tar Heels NFL Draft Profile: Bug Howard". Tar Heel Blog. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  4. Fornelli, Tom (September 3, 2015). "UNC's Bug Howard scores 1st TD of 2015 college football season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  5. "Bug Howard, North Carolina, Wide Receiver". 247Sports.com. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  6. Zierlein, Lance. "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Bug Howard". NFL.com. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  7. Bondurant, Tanya (April 29, 2017). "North Carolina wide receiver Bug Howard signs with Indianapolis Colts as undrafted free agent". Tar Heel Blog. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  8. Ites, Andrew (September 2, 2017). "Colts Announce Full List of Roster Cuts". Horseshoe Heroes. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  9. "Browns sign WR Bug Howard to practice squad". ClevelandBrowns.com. September 26, 2017. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  10. "Browns sign eight players". ClevelandBrowns.com. January 1, 2018. Archived from the original on April 8, 2018.
  11. "Browns release 7 players". ClevelandBrowns.com. April 12, 2018. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018.
  12. Henson, Max (May 14, 2018). "Panthers sign four tryouts, waive Zack Sanchez". Panthers.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018.
  13. Henson, Max (August 31, 2018). "Panthers announce first wave of cuts". Panthers.com.
  14. "32 Players Sign New Contracts with the Alliance". AAF.com. November 9, 2018. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  15. DiLalla, Aric (May 13, 2019). "Broncos sign four players as OTAs begin". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
  16. DiLalla, Aric (August 21, 2019). "Broncos place Horace Richardson, Bug Howard on injured reserve". DenverBroncos.com.
  17. "Broncos sign 15 players to future contracts, claim NT Joel Heath off waivers". DenverBroncos.com. December 31, 2019. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  18. DiLalla, Aric (April 27, 2020). "Broncos waive four players following 2020 NFL Draft". DenverBroncos.com.
  19. Keatley, Josh (October 27, 2020). "Former Browns to watch in The Spring League". USAToday.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  20. Johnson, James (December 14, 2020). "Jags sign TE Bug Howard, DE Aaron Patrick along with other transactions". USAToday.com. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  21. "Five have contract expire". FantasyGuru.com. January 11, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  22. "Bills sign tight end Bug Howard". BuffaloBills.com. July 30, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  23. "Five players released by the Bills to reach the 80-man roster limit". BuffaloBills.com. August 24, 2021.
  24. @USFLStars (February 23, 2022). "Welcome to Philly, @ThaBugMan! #USFLDraft" (Tweet). Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  25. @USFLStars (April 1, 2022). "Some roster updates for your Philadelphia Stars" (Tweet). Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  26. @USFLStars (April 4, 2022). "Monday roster updates" (Tweet). Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  27. @USFLStars (April 7, 2022). "Roster updates" (Tweet). Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Twitter.
  28. Smith, Scott (July 29, 2022). "Bucs Sign TE Bug Howard". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2022. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
  29. Smith, Scott (August 23, 2022). "Bug Howard Waived as Bucs Get to 80". Buccaneers.com.
  30. @USFLStars (February 8, 2023). "Free Agent Signings" (Tweet). Retrieved February 8, 2023 – via Twitter.
  31. @USFLStars (March 19, 2023). "Transferred to Inactive List" (Tweet). Retrieved March 20, 2023 – via Twitter.
  32. "Philadelphia Stars Team Stats". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2022-05-12.
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