Jeff Bagwell used to do this regularly in the 90's. He'd get interviewed from Cabo or somewhere in January and just b@$%h about Drayton, the team, whatever. Then he'd show up in the Spring and work his ass off all year. AJ reminds me of him.
If you want to whine about something I post, do so in the threads, don't do so by giving me anonymous rep.
I'm a big Andre Johnson fan. The guy has been a HOF caliber talent on and off the field. Andre is easily the greatest player of this franchise's short history and its been great having him here in a Texans' uniform. That being said, the Texans have bent over backwards for Andre Johnson. IIRC, his uncle represented him out of the draft and didn't get him a great contract. The Texans restructured his contract once he got an actual agent, which they didn't have to do. When Larry Fitzgerald got paid, the Texans ponied up. When the Texans asked him to restructure, they added more guaranteed money to make keep his contract on par with the top paid wideouts. It's funny and sad to me to hear Andre wonder if this is the place for him. I guess it was fine when he was cashing those fat paychecks, prior to winning seasons. I can't stand athletes who sign big contracts and then want to talk about winning being the reason they play the game. Andre has made a huge sum of money playing a game and while I understand its been difficult to go through a 2-14 season, there's something to be said about being professional. While he hasn't come out and asked for a trade, voicing your displeasure through the media is unprofessional. I'd like to see Andre get on board like JJ Watt and talk about helping the rookies coming in get with the program and build a winner again. If winning meant so much to him then he should have signed a one year deal and then signed with a contender who was favored to win the Super Bowl, it's a shot at winning, but less coin in his pocket. If the Texans trade Andre, I'm asking for a second rounder, potentially conditional as a first if the team he's traded to makes the Conference championship or Super Bowl. I'm not willing to give him away and if he doesn't want to be here, he can retire or stay home and not get paid.
Well to be fair as an athlete getting paid tons of money you should always choose your words wisely but on the other hand I can see where Andre is coming from. He is one of the only vets left from his era. Demeco is gone, Owen Daniels is gone, Schaub is gone, Mario Williams is gone, Eric Winston, Mark Briesel, etc etc. I feel like Andre feels like a lone Veteran that feels like he needs a change so I don't blame him for wanting to leave but as long he does it in an appreciative manner. There are only a handful of Receivers that have remained on their squads. To list some: Larry Fitzgerald (bad team) although they did make it to the Super Bowl once. Reggie Wayne (has had some playoff success and won a Super Bowl) Steve Smith (Bad team) Calvin Johnson (looks like a repeat of Andre Johnson)
I agree he should have chosen his words more wisely, even if he wants out, he has no way of making that happen other than retirement so making public statements like this are even more foolish. If he wants to privately ask McNair to do him a solid, that's one thing, but coming out and being a public malcontent does no one any good.
No way can the Texans trade him, though it's pretty obvious that's what he'd prefer. Nor do I see him leaving millions on the table and retiring. That happens so rarely in pro sports. But do we want a disgruntled player in the locker room? It would kill me to see Dre traded, but team comes before players. I don't care who you are or how good you are, bad attitudes must be shown the door. Hopefully it won't come to that.
Per TexansTalk/BattleRedBlog the story is that Andre has felt this way for some time and that he's considering "getting out". A reliable source who posted about this 5 days ago has this story to tell. It doesn't add too much to the story, but it is interesting that the Texans knew about this before the draft. I think it is very likely that they blew him (knowing he has no leverage) off and that's why he went public with it.
As much as I love Andre, if he really wants to move on, they need to just get the most value they can. As said previously by some, no one player can be bigger than the team or franchise. There are some positives to gain from this. The Texans get some cap room, and they get a pick out of it. WRs like Andre don't grow on trees, but he's also 32. At some point, he's going to decline. It's pretty obvious that we aren't contending now, this might be a blessing in disguise if the Texans can land a potential 2nd or 3rd rounder for him and then draft another marquee WR next season. They need to sit down with Andre before training camp and see if he's made up his mind and if he's fully committed to the Texans. If he isn't, you shop him. Simple.
No way you trade AJ - even at 80% effort he is better than anyone you'll likely get with a 2nd/3rd, and when you factor in all the dead money it would basically be waiving the white flag on next season, and possibly even the season after that. If he want to leave he can retire
I would have gladly traded Andre before the draft, but now? Andre is being unprofessional whining to the media. Very disappointed in him. Poorly run franchise but poorly run mouth.
Maybe. He could "Clowney" his way through the season though. He doesn't sound like a guy who's up to giving his all to this organization if he stays. And what do you think he's trying to force the Texans to do...??? You keep saying he has no leverage and the Texans own him. You're so outraged and pis'd off at Dre that you keep missing the point that he said he hasn't gone to the team about his contract or a trade. He just may be contemplating pulling a Barry Sanders.
the organization, financially, *has* bent over backwards for Dre on more than one occasion. but the organization also kept David Carr, said "no, thanks" to Peyton Freaking Manning because we have fricking Shaub, stuck with an offensive scheme that the whole damn league had clearly figured out twenty games after they figured out, and kept an HC, OC, and DC who collectively showed ZERO ability to make any adjustments WHATSOEVER. The Texans, for at a minimum the last 20 games of their pathetic existence, have been outcoached by seemingly everyone including the wino on the street corner. And before that, we had the C&C Idiot Factory (credit to Hillboy for that reference (or was it Ric?)). So, if Dre is feeling enough angst to let some slip in public, I'm not offended. If Dre wants to leave, I'm not offended. I'll basically take 'Dre over the history of the whole damn franchise--every player, coach, and FO. We've basically had 'Dre and what? Watt. Beyond that, nothing to write home about.
Did he make his wishes explicitly known before the draft, so that the Texans could have traded him or drafted a WR? Right now, he's holding the team hostage with his comments. He should have made a clear decision earlier. Even now it's not clear what he really wants. He really wants out of the Texans, but not man enough to admit it.
How about to WAS for Kirk Cousins & a 2nd/3rd? We all know Snyder loves his names and maybe you can get Washington to pay a king's ransom just for the chance to pair RGIII & Desean Jackson with Dre. If any team overpays in a trade for Dre, I think it's Washington.
Texans just need to win games. I'm sure Reed trashed the team and their coaching staff, but it would've meant nothing if we'd been winning. Ed had 3 int's last season AFTER we cut him. Kubiak and Co handicapped this team so badly, it's a joke. We're better by default with BO'B and have a great chance to 180 everything this year.
