[Chron] Andre Johnson no longer wants to be a Texan

Well I'll always remember what he's done as well, but when I say I lost respect for him it's because of how poorly he's handled his business this off-season. His BS has done nothing but alienate his fanbase and cost him 1 million dollars....that's pretty stupid. I would have thought he was smarter than that.

 

come on now... isn't this really about money? He knows that he'll get cut next year regardless (because of the money he'll be getting), and he doesn't want to be a 34 year old free agent with a lot of miles. "I want to win" is just a unique way to say "I want more guaranteed money"

I love Andre for all he's done for the Texans, but this is uncool. And I'm tired of hearing the Texans owe him anything- he resturctured his contract (something everyone does) to help the team, but that just means he opted to get the same money at different intervals, not a pay cut. He's made tens of millions of dollars off the Texans, and he's been compensated well for his time here. He isn't owed anything.

 

There is that

Rocket River

 

Uh no.

It was only to get Bosh or Melo

 

Most Rocket fans that wanted Rockets not to exercise team option wanted it because they thought Rockets would be guaranteed to keep him in restricted free agency. Parsons not being kept has caused a mild uproar.

On Asik, most people who wanted to trade him after he asked for trade already wanted to trade him because they didn't think he could play minutes with Howard.

 

I hope they can trade him, he has been great, but if he wants out, we should try to help him.

DD

 

Completely different situations altogether.

They had an option on Parsons and decided not to pick it up. He didn't complain in the middle of a lengthy contract and get let out of it by the goodness in Daryl Morey's heart. It was a calculated risk to sign a max level player and it didn't work out.

Asik was traded for value, that being a likely high first round pick and the added bonus of clearing significant cap room because he wants to start. They did this for him because they received significant value back.

Andre Johnson's situation is completely different. He has THREE years left on his deal. There's no option for him to opt out. He can't be traded or let go without causing a 10 million+ cap hit in dead money.

He can be cut next year, sure. That's how the NFL works. He signed a 7 year deal with an unguaranteed back end. Now, he wants the team to hook a brotha up because he signed something that wasn't in his best interest. Then, he whined publically about it and skipped practices. And, he's done this before. The last time this happened it was because his deal before this was a bad deal and the team re-did it so he could get paid what he was worth. He's had one of the most boneheaded offseasons business-wise I've ever seen from a player. He has no leverage whatsoever, and the team gains absolutely nothing by handing him over to another team so they can sit with dead money they can't use. Why? So he can "win"? Give me a F'n break. What we "owe" Andre Johnson has been paid to him in millions of dollars of compensation. The team only owes him what was agreed to by BOTH PARTIES in his contract, nothing more, nothing less.

Your analogy is very poor.

 

He has been pretty underpaid in his career compared to Fitz and Megatron.

 

When he signed in 2010 he was the highest paid receiver in the league.

Link

 

I don't need you to explain the actions of the other bumbling GM in this city. A contract is a contract.

And yes, cut AJ so we can have cap room. Like McHale says, "Good ol Cap Room."

 

Someone needs to explain SOMETHING to you. The way contracts work in the NBA compared to the NFL are completely different. Your analogy made no sense.

Nevertheless....

We lose over 10 million in space if we cut or trade him now. The Texans will not do that, nor should they. That's the bottom line.

 

I didn't say they should cut or trade him, I want McNair to honor his end of the contract and keep and pay him because whatever cap space they get for cutting him next year _ probably won't be enough to replace AJ's contribution to the team.

Earl Campbell retired in a New Orleans Saints uniform... Olajuwon retired in a Toronto uniform... So I guess they may as well keep that tradition going.

 

No matter who's fault this is, it's a sad time for Houston sports fans. Andre is a Houston sports great, it's sad to see things end badly.

 

This. He's taken the position of if the Texans aren't going to commit to him (by guaranteeing him money for next year) then he doesn't want to commit to him. I don't think AJ would have any problem finishing out his career with the Texans if he knew they weren't going to just dump him (and his contract) next year. And if they are going to dump him next year, he doesn't want to waste a year near the end of his career on a team that isn't ready to contend. I think winning matters to him, but it's secondary to the money. Give him the money and the desire to be on a team capable of winning a Super Bowl goes away.

I see Andre's point of view on this, but I can't really fault the Texans on the way they're handling this either.

 

You advocated appeasing him, specifically, doing for him what the Rockets did with Asik and Parsons. One was "cut" or more correctly had his option not picked up, and the other was traded. If you weren't saying they should cut or trade him, why use the analogy at all? That's all I said, that your analogy was horrible. At this point I'm not even sure you remember what your original point was.

I'm not sure what McNair is doing to NOT honor his end of the contract. He's not paying him a bonus he didn't earn. He wants him on the team. He wants him to show up and play. Andre doesn't want to show up. His true motivations are unknown. Your logic is confusing.

 

It's kind of you to suggest that any logic was in play.

A lot of people inexplicably think that cutting players as allowed by their contract is somehow not honoring the contract.

 

I agree that it's a crappy thing to do to cut a guy who's been a loyal part of your team his whole career.

The issue to me is just how poorly Andre handled this. He took it all public without thinking it through. He never had any leverage in this right from the beginning. There's literally nothing he can do about this other than sit out and not get paid, unless the Texans just decide to eat the cap space and cut or trade him. And that's bad business.

He hasn't handled this very well. If he really wants to just get guaranteed and stay on the team, I'm in his corner. But I'm not really sure WHAT he wants. I just know he's not at practice and seems to want a bonus he hasn't earned. I find the whole thing sad. In the end, it's business decisions on two sides of a coin looking out for their own best interests. I just think one side chose the wrong tactics to handle it. No one is screwing anyone here. It's not only here that these things happen.

Emmitt Smith finished a Cardinal.
Jerry Rice finished a Seahawk.
Joe Montana ended a Chief.
Brett Favre a Viking.

I mean, it goes on and on and on. If the players want this sort of thing the change, they need to take a hard stand on guaranteed contracts when the CBA comes up again. As things stand, Andre's just begging for the team to throw him another bone (after being restructured at his request for a better deal four years ago). It's not gonna end up in his favor if he keeps playing hardball.

 

No Sir. You're dead wrong...!!!!

I'm advocating pleasing me _ AND YOU.

Although we went 2-14 last season, AJ was still entertaining to watch and you can't deny that. Just like in all those other years of losing he was entertaining to watch. This is sports entertainment and we're headed for some lean years so may as well keep AJ... Especially considering he still has gas in the tank.

 

Is it too late to pick up Santonio Holmes for a 1-yr deal? or something? I mean we need a vet WR and if he isnt coming back, he isnt coming back. Also, if he retires, do we get that cap room or does it somehow stick against us for some random reason that doesnt seem fair.

 

Couldn't have put it any better.