Johnathan "Bug" Howard[1] (born November 28, 1994) is an American football tight end. He played college football at North Carolina.
Howard, who was given the nickname "Bug" by his grandmother when he was a toddler, attended Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, Georgia.[2]
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]
| Year | Team | GP | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | North Carolina | 10 | 22 | 278 | 12.6 | 4 |
| 2014 | North Carolina | 12 | 42 | 455 | 10.8 | 2 |
| 2015 | North Carolina | 12 | 29 | 488 | 16.8 | 4 |
| 2016 | North Carolina | 12 | 53 | 827 | 15.6 | 8 |
| Career | 46 | 146 | 2,048 | 14.0 | 18 | |
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]
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]
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]
On November 9, 2018, Howard signed with the Atlanta Legends of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) for the 2019 season.[14]
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]
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]
On July 30, 2021, Howard signed with the Buffalo Bills.[22] He was waived on August 24, 2021.[23]
Howard was drafted by the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL) 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]
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.
On February 8, 2023, Howard signed with the Stars for his second stint with the team.[30] He was transferred to the team's inactive list on March 19, 2023.[31] The Stars folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[32]
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2022 | PHI | 10 | 8 | 30 | 371 | 12.4 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 10 | 8 | 30 | 371 | 12.4 | 41 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
