When wide receiver Stevie Johnson was in Buffalo, he served as the team’s No. 1 receiver most of the time.
No one was surprised when that changed with the offseason trade that brought him to San Francisco because the 49ers already had Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree in house, but there wasn’t a wide expectation that Johnson would wind up as the fourth man in the pecking order at wideout. That’s how things have played out, however, and Johnson has been playing fewer snaps than Brandon Lloyd.
Johnson admits that he’d like to be doing more, but says he isn’t frustrated by his spot because of the players in front of him.
“No frustration at all. [The] only sense of frustration is being a competitor, you know, wanting to do more. But it ain’t like there’s a bunch of pansies in front of me,” Johnson said, via CSNBayArea.com. “It’s cool to a certain extent. When we get in those situations, in the heat of the moment, of course, I’m a warrior. I’m ready to go out there. We got great guys out there on the field. You can’t be frustrated. It’s not going to look right.”
Johnson has produced in the playing time he has received with 10 catches in the two weeks before San Francisco went on their bye and 30 catches overall this season, which likely joins with the chance to make it to the postseason for the first time to help with any feelings of frustration.