Source: Texans plan to cut Andre Johnson if he refuses pay cut

Andre's contract is 100% non-guaranteed.

So, barring any weird OTA/training camp bonuses, we can cut him the day before kickoff and not pay him a dime.

 

Yes. The bears got a 5th round pick for an in his prime Brandon Marshall. It is infinitely more important to nab a 7th rounder and send him to a potentially crap team than to let him try to sign with a team while cap dollars are available. I mean, it isn't like he has meant anything to the franchise over the years.

Edit: his contract makes him impossible to move so let him go when cap space is open

 

Is the fact that he once meant something to the franchise supposed to influence their decision making today? You really aren't going to like the BOB Patriots style system if you think the answer should be "yes"

 

This guy here.

1. Bill O'Brien is not Belichek
2. There is no Texan's Tom Brady
3. The Patriots are currently trying to keep their major FAs this season
4. The Patriots never went to future HOF in March and said "you will be benched".
5. In case you missed it, Bill O'Brien is no Belichek

 

True, but they are trying to keep the 20 something year old free agents. It's still the usual cut players in their 30's on the decline for the Patriots. Vince Wilfork, Wes Welker a few seasons ago, etc...

 

1. No *****
2. Not the point/irrelevant
3. Some, sure but not the over the hill guys and that's the point.
4. No, but they cut a future HOF WR after a 1200+ yard 13 TD season because he was over the hill at 33.....
5. In case you missed it, no *****

 

At least they tried to keep Welker. They just couldn't agree on a deal. I believee they are negotiating with Wildork now. Nothing like the Andre Johnson situation.

 

2. Is relevant because you can afford to lose players when Tom Brady is under center. You can afford to have receivers like Gaffmey because of who is throwing to them.

3. Not resigning a player, cutting him, and pissing him off by saying he is not good enough to be a starter a three different things. Randy Moss was a problem on the locker room and Welker was a free agent. Not the same thing.

 

You really need to take a closer look at some of the shrewd moves the Pats have made for players they no longer deem worth it.

Hell, they traded a pro-bowl anchor offensive lineman before the season last year, "just because".

Andre Johnson, at $16 million dollars cap hit, is NOT WORTH IT! They've made the right decision, regardless of "how" it came about. BTW, the Texans are also doing a pretty good job of keeping the free agents that are still playing at a high level.

 

It wasn't just because. They wanted another tight end. The face of their franchise is a QB not a DE. Again, just trading s player is not the same as telling him he is not good and then giving him "permission" to seek a trade. I understand if the team wanted to move away from AJ but it could have been handled better.

I hated the Mankins move and thought they wouldn't survive without him. Obviously I was wrong.

 

Trading players is worse! Players have no control in that situation. Mankins was crushed at the move, and several Pats veterans were left wondering if they could be "next"... in the end, hasn't affected them one bit (and btw, that TE really didn't amount to much).

At least in this case, AJ is free to explore wherever he wants to go. Again, who cares how it was "handled"??? Definitely didn't affect the mindset of Kareem or Derek Newton. Certainly won't prevent future free agents from coming here.

 

And if you look at those trades, they've universally been to bad teams: Seymour to Oakland; Mankins to Tampa Bay. That may be a product of cap room, perhaps. But Belicheck is definitely sending a bit of a message: get/stay in line, or I'll send you to Jacksonville. And his handling of Lawyer Milloy, while not a trade, produced the same result - cut five days before the season, his only option was a cash-rich, terrible Buffalo team.

The Patriots, like their coach, lack any emotional context.

 

I have zero issue with getting rid of him. He's past his prime and overpaid. Totally fine with him going somewhere else. What I do have an issue with is the fact that his contract makes him untradeable, and even if some team was dumb enough to pay an aging receiver top receiver money (hey, Buffalo Bills...looking at you and McCoy's contract!), we wouldn't get more than a 7th round pick for him.

So, IMHO, we should release him now and let him try to sign with a good team while they have cap room because he should be worth maybe $4-5m per season on a one year deal and teams have cap room at the moment and someone good with cap room may want him.

I think passing up a 7th round pick is worth it as I feel we do owe him something. I am not sitting here saying keep him...fine with him going. But if Brandon Marshall, who didn't ask for a trade, was worth a 5th rounder...what is today's Andre worth? Not much. Even less with his bloated salary. Keeping him until the last minute then cutting him when other teams will have spent their available money is a disservice. It isn't like we are talking about Daniel Manning...this is AJ and we should at least let him go somewhere he wants to for a decent salary. Especially if he isn't worth anything but a late round pick at best. If we could get like a 3rd rounder or something, then it's a different conversation.

 

I'm baffled that you genuinely think an indivdual's well-being is more important than the team's... The Texans should legitimately have their eyes on a playoff spot this year; why dangle Andre Johnson in front of teams that might very well be your competition for that spot?

 

Agreed, now isn't the time to mend any fences. That ship has sailed, and for all intents and purposes AJ is no longer a member of the Houston Texans. Their #1 priority as far as AJ goes should be to remove his salary from the ledger as efficiently as possible.

 

WHO CARES?

Even if it eliminates just one contender from signing him, that is better for the team long-term.

Also, if they need his cap savings to sign somebody they'll cut him today... but until that player agrees, there is absolutely zero incentive for the Texans to let him sign with a contender at this moment.

 

Texans dont owe AJ anything, they have paid him $88mil over the years...I believe their dues to him have been paid. If cutting him last minute is better for the Texans by keeping him off the Colts...then that is what needs to be done.

If AJ was smart he would have made his contract guaranteed for the upcoming year if on the roster before FA started.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Houston's Andre Johnson will be getting cut today per sources <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a></p>&mdash; Dianna Marie Russini (@NBCdianna) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCdianna/status/574942534130143233">March 9, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

This must mean that they need the cap savings now... interested to see who it could be.

 

Some of the space is probably for Hoyer.