NFL teams spent Tuesday afternoon trimming their rosters down to 53 before the league’s 4 p.m. ET deadline. They’ll now spend the coming days searching the waiver wire and free agency for upgrades. Just because a player is released from one team doesn’t mean he can’t improve another. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say.

One player that should generate plenty of interest is former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Tyron Johnson, who was released by the team on Tuesday. The 6-foot-1 receiver has speed for days and could serve as a deep threat for an offense that needs help stretching the field.

Johnson’s opportunities in Los Angeles were limited, but he did flash his ability to get vertical on occasion. He played in 12 games in 2020 and finished the year with 20 receptions for 398 yards and three touchdowns. The highlight of Johnson’s season was a 53-yard touchdown pass thrown to him by Justin Herbert during a Week 4 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Johnson got behind a pair of secondary defenders on the play. It was a great example of Johnson’s capability to win deep.

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You can see why Johnson should receive interest from several teams around the league. ‌‌With‌ ‌that‌ ‌said,‌ ‌let’s‌ ‌examine‌ ‌some‌ ‌destinations‌ ‌that‌ ‌appear‌ ‌logical‌ ‌on‌ ‌paper.‌

Green Bay Packers

The Packers made one of the more surprising cuts of the day on Tuesday when they released former Notre Dame receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who has struggled to stay healthy since making the leap from college to the pros.

I’m not suggesting Green Bay here because I have an issue with their depth at receiver. In fact, I think they’re well stocked with the likes of Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Randall Cobb, and Amari Rodgers in the mix. But when I look at this from a pure fit perspective, I can’t help but get excited.

We know Aaron Rodgers throws one of the best deep balls in all of football. Time is running out on the Rodgers era, and the front office should be doing everything they can to win another Super Bowl before handing the keys over to Jordan Love. Bringing in a speedy receiver like Johnson would give Rodgers another fun toy to play with in 2021. Make it happen, Brian Gutekunst.

ATLANTA FALCONS

The Falcons will look to the waiver wire as a way to improve their roster. Head coach Arthur Smith didn’t shy away from that topic when speaking with the media on Tuesday.

“We’re always looking at the roster, and you never know who’s going to become available,” Smith said. “There are going to be a million calls around the league.”

One of their calls should go to Johnson. While analyzing their initial 53, wide receiver appears to be a position that Atlanta could use an upgrade at. The Falcons kept six receivers, and that list includes former Tennessee Titans receiver Tajae Sharpe, rookie sixth-round pick Frank Darby, and third-year undrafted free agent Christian Blake. With all due respect, this position room isn’t exactly busting at the seams with proven depth. We could easily envision Johnson carving out a role for himself in Atlanta.

Matt Ryan is among the league’s best deep passers. We’d love to see his talents mesh up with Johnson’s ability to win vertically this season.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The Colts strike me as one of the teams that should be looking for more depth at the receiver position in the coming days. T.Y. Hilton will miss multiple games as he continues to recover from an unspecified injury. Looking at their current group, the Colts are putting a lot of stock in Michael Pittman Jr., Zach Pascal, and Parris Campbell. Feel-good stories Ashton Dulin and Mike Strachan also made the team, but are unlikely to log a significant amount of playing time.

New starting quarterback Carson Wentz is a fairly accurate deep ball thrower, but the Colts need to surround him with more weapons in order to take full advantage of his skill set. In a perfect world, Campbell would be that guy, but staying healthy has been an issue for him. Campbell has played in just nine of a possible 32 games. General manager Chris Ballard should be taking a long look at Johnson and his penchant for getting deep as we speak.