Texans owner Bob McNair suggests Andre Johnson is no longer a star
Andre Johnson holds every major franchise receiving record for the Houston Texans, but it wasn't enough to avoid the shade Texans owner Bob McNair cast on the 33-year-old wide receiver.
Johnson was the face of the Texans' franchise after the club selected him with the third overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.
The seven-time Pro Bowler signed with the Indianapolis Colts in free agency this offseason after he reportedly balked at taking a lesser role in the Texans' offense.
With Johnson now starring for Houston's chief AFC South rival, McNair suggested that time has caught up to the prolific wide receiver.
"Every athlete I think would like to play forever," McNair said to ESPN's Tania Ganguli. "They never want to acknowledge that they've lost a step or they can't quite do what they did before. Just look at history. Look at all the players. It just happens time and time again.
"We don't like to acknowledge that we're getting older. None of us do. That's just human nature, and I don't think that’s going to change.... They're used to being a star and they'd like to continue being a star. I don't blame 'em, I understand that."
Johnson recorded 85 receptions for 936 yards and three touchdowns last season. Although those totals aren't quite what fans are used to seeing from Johnson, the dynamic wide receiver had to deal with a rotating quarterback carousel throughout the 2014 campaign.
Quarterback consistency certainly won't be an issue anymore for Johnson, who will suit up alongside burgeoning star Andrew Luck.
McNair tacitly acknowledged that Johnson was asked to take a smaller part in the Texans' scheme. DeAndre Hopkins emerged as a bona fide star in 2014, amassing 76 catches for 1,210 yards and six touchdowns, likely making Johnson expendable in the eyes of the Texans' management.
"No, he had the opportunity to stay, but his role was changing," McNair said. "As a player gets older, that's what happens. He wasn't interested in the role that he thought was available and he wanted to pursue a role with another team so we honored his request."
McNair also said that the franchise would honor him for his contributions to the club after his career ends. That will likely be of little consolation to Johnson for the time being, though, and Colts-Texans will become appointment viewing.