Michael Johnson returns to Bengals

— -- Free agent defensive lineman Michael Johnson, who spent his first five seasons in Cincinnati before signing a lucrative deal last year with Tampa Bay, reached an agreement on a four-year contract Sunday to return to the Bengals.

The Bengals, who will receive a third-round compensatory pick in the 2015 draft as a result of losing Johnson last year in free agency, now have the defensive end back on the team as well.

The Buccaneers released Johnson just one year after signing the defensive end to a five-year, $43.8 million contract. 

Johnson also had made a visit since his release with the Minnesota Vikings, whose head coach, Mike Zimmer, was his defensive coordinator when he played for the Bengals.

"Our entire organization is just ecstatic about getting Mike back," Bengals' coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement. "He's earned tremendous respect from coaches, teammates and management. He did tremendous things for us while he was here, and we look forward to having him blend back in and uplift us as defensive football team."

Johnson was supposed to bolster Tampa Bay's pass rush. But he recorded just four sacks while playing through several injuries.

Johnson, 28, still will collect $7 million in guaranteed money this year, but the move freed up $2 million in cap space for the Buccaneers.

He played with the Bengals  from 2009 to 2013 and recorded 26.5 sacks with Cincinnati, including a career-best 11.5 in 2012.

Johnson essentially will be replacing himself after the Bengals struggled to find a good No. 2 defensive end to pair last season with Carlos Dunlap. Backup Wallace Gilberry moved more regularly in the rotation to replace Johnson in 2014, playing more snaps than he previously had in a single season. The added playing time took a toll on Gilberry who went from having 7.5 sacks in 2013 to just 1.5 in 2014.

ESPN.com Bengals reporter Coley Harvey and Buccaneers reporter Pat Yasinskas contributed to this report.