Sage Rosenfels column: Andre Johnson put Texans on the map

Having played for five different NFL teams, I'm invited to a "homecoming weekend" by each franchise every year.

The only exception had been the Houston Texans. This was due to the fact that they had never had a homecoming weekend for their former players, until now.

The Houston franchise is the youngest in the league. The team's first season was in 2002 under owner Bob McNair. Starting a franchise from scratch is a difficult proposition in the NFL. You're at a steep disadvantage, as not only is your roster entirely new, but much of the employee infrastructure is untested in the competitive world of the NFL.

Despite running a first-class organization and sparing no expense, McNair's team hasn't had a lot of playoff success during its 16-year run. But that doesn't mean it hasn't had star players.

In only the Texans' second year in existence, McNair's first general manager, Charley Casserly, held the third pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. Sometimes, an NFL franchise gets lucky, and the Texans received a huge gift when the Detroit Lions chose Charles Rogers with the second pick, allowing them to snag their franchise's first superstar with the next selection.

Wide receiver Andre Johnson put the Texans on the NFL map. He brought legitimacy to the youngest kid on the block, and he did it his way. For almost a decade, Dre was one of the most feared wide receivers. To judge his career by only his statistics would be a great disservice to him as a player, and as a man.

I played with a lot of great players during my 12 seasons in the NFL. I sat in quarterback rooms with Brett Favre and Eli Manning. I got to hand the ball off to Adrian Peterson and Ricky Williams in their prime. I watched in awe as Jason Taylor, Junior Seau, Bruce Smith, Jared Allen, Zach Thomas, Justin Tuck, and Champ Bailey made life extremely difficult for opposing offenses.

If I had the first pick of all of these players to be my teammate, I wouldn't think twice: I'd pick Andre Johnson.

This past weekend, during a fairly meaningless game between the Texans and Cardinals, which both started backup quarterbacks, Johnson became the initial member of the Texans Ring of Honor. It was a special weekend for Andre and Texans fans, but I believe nobody had a better time than the players that were fortunate enough to play with Dre during his 12-year run in Houston.

Just a month ago, I was invited to the Vikings' homecoming weekend, where they inducted legendary wide receiver Ahmad Rashad into their Ring of Honor. The weekend was special for me, as I had a chance to meet and talk with NFL legends such as Carl Eller, John Randall, Jim Marshall, Chuck Foreman, and Rashad. It was a celebration of an earlier era of Vikings football.

The Andre Johnson weekend in Houston was an opportunity to celebrate one of my former receivers and teammates, but it wasn't just another occasion where an old teammate was immortalized. It was a reunion of a group of young men that were thrown together to create the initial history of an NFL franchise.

As far as homecoming weekends go, this was one you didn't want to miss. If I had never played for the Texans, knowing what I know now, I would have tried to sneak in. Since nearly every former Texan is between the ages of 30 and 45, each player is connected in one way or another. It's the youngest ex-player fraternity in the NFL, and last weekend it honored its greatest teammate, with McNair footing the open bar bill. Needless to say, it was a memorable and sleep-deprived weekend.

At the heart of the celebration was Johnson, who still looks like a premier NFL wideout, and still smiles much more than he talks. In an age when many elite professional athletes do whatever they can to promote themselves through social media and self-serving interviews, Johnson has always let his actions do the talking. This is why I wanted to write this week's article on him.

During the next four years, as Dre waits for the Hall of Fame voters to approve him as a first-ballot member, you won't hear him trying to bolster his resume. He'll instead focus on life after football, which, for him, is working with children and families in Miami and Houston. This is why I feel compelled to speak for Andre, so others know just how accomplished he was as a complete NFL wide receiver.

Jerry Rice is widely regarded as the greatest receiver in NFL history. The length of his career, the whopping numbers he put up over nearly two decades, and the Super Bowl rings he acquired are the main reasons he finds himself at the top of the list. But if you compare Rice and Johnson based on what they can do for your offense, I don't believe there are many things Rice did better than Johnson.

Johnson was bigger, more physical, faster, blocked like a tight end, could go up and grab a jump ball at a higher point, received more double coverage, and had similar run-after-catch ability. Nobody during the '80s and '90s wanted to cover Rice one-on-one, and not one corner felt secure about a matchup with Johnson. The biggest difference between the two receivers was the teams around them.

During their Super Bowl runs, the San Francisco 49ers were loaded with talent, especially during the later years with Steve Young as their quarterback. With no salary cap and an aggressive owner, San Fran built a dominant roster. Rice was surrounded by Hall of Famers, but, most importantly, he had Joe Montana and Young throwing him the football. Both were first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

Andre Johnson wasn't so lucky. He had guys named David, Matt, Sage, T.J, Rex, Case, and a few Ryans trying to get him the ball. He also rarely had a dominant defense to give him more opportunities. Many times, success in the NFL comes down to luck.

Andre didn't have Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, or Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback. Either way, he still went out and produced absurd numbers.

Congratulations to Andre Johnson and the Texans. The selection of Andre as the team's first member inducted into the Ring of Honor sets a high bar for any Texans player to reach. I consider myself and my former teammates extremely lucky to have been able to complete alongside greatness during our years in Houston.

My only regret is not doing enough to get Dre a Super Bowl ring, something a player like him should have attained upon retirement. You can bet I'm going to do everything in my power to get him a gold jacket, and a bust in Canton, Ohio. It's the least I can do for the best wide receiver I ever saw during my run in the NFL. Thanks for putting Houston on the NFL map, Andre. You're the Texans' GOAT.

Sage Rosenfels is a former 12-year NFL quarterback who writes, does radio, and podcasts about the NFL and college football. Find him on Twitter @SageRosenfels18.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)