The Houston Texans may have believed Andre Johnson's best days were behind him, but the Indianapolis Colts are counting on the veteran receiver to help improve their offense.
"He's a big body guy that can still separate, create separation," Colts head coach Chuck Pagano said, according to Mike Wells of ESPN.com. "He's got a big catch radius. But again, the contested catches that you see on tape. It's very difficult to match up. There are few corners in the league that have length and size to match up but most are aren't on that size and they get pushed around a little bit. He's going to be able to bring that big, physical presence to us."
Johnson signed a reported three-year, $21-million deal with the Colts earlier this month after being released by the Texans, who wanted him to take on a reduced role in 2015.
"Every athlete I think would like to play forever," Texans owner Bob McNair said recently when asked about Johnson. "They never want to acknowledge that they've lost a step or they can't quite do what they did before."
The Colts are still confidant in Johnson's abilities, though.
"You don't see a huge dropoff numbers-wise," Pagano said. "Maybe in touchdowns. But you still see a guy who is more than capable of stretching the defense. Certainly somebody who an opponent can't just line up and say, 'Don't worry about Andre Johnson.' They're still going to have to tend to him if you will.
"If they choose to double (T.Y. Hilton) and take him out of the game, you have another guy on the other side, along with the rest of the guys on the roster who can still stretch the defense. He's a big, possession type guy. He makes contested catches in traffic. He's got a big catch radius. A big body. Those guys are hard to defend."
