Andre Johnson Will Skip Texans' Mandatory Mini-Camp

A little more than a month ago, Andre Johnson informed the media that he did not plan to attend Houston Texans OTAs or mini-camp. A man of his word, 'Dre has missed all of the team's 2014 OTAs thus far. That decision was not unprecedented, as 'Dre did miss a few days of OTAs back in 2010 in a contract dispute that got resolved (via a two-year extension) a few months later.

It would appear that Andre Johnson's word remains strong as oak, as his uncle has told Brian Smith of the Houston Chronicle that 'Dre will not be attending the team's mandatory mini-camp either. From the story:

Veteran wide receiver Andre Johnson won’t attend the Texans’ mandatory minicamp Tuesday through Thursday, his adviser and uncle Andre Melton said Monday.

While Johnson’s absence was expected, Melton’s comments confirmed the seven-time Pro Bowler remains at odds with the Texans and there’s no immediate end in sight to the stalemate.

"Right now, that’s all that he can do," Melton said. "We’ve done what we can do, so we’re just sitting there waiting."

If you're looking for a silver lining, I'd point you toward this:

"Andre and Bill [O'Brien] have a great relationship. That’s just what it is," Melton said. "After that, it’s just a wait-and-see deal."

Unlike OTAs, skipping mini-camp will result in fines and potentially significant lost money to the best player in franchise history:

Johnson can be fined during each day of his absence, losing $11,575 Tuesday, $23,150 Wednesday and $34,730 Thursday for a total of $69,455. He also stands to lose a $1 million offseason workout bonus.

It's still an open question as to whether Andre Johnson will be back for training camp next month:

With training camp starting at the end of July, Melton said Johnson is holding off making a decision about his attendance and has yet to determine whether he’ll officially hold out.

"We’ll evaluate it in a month or so and see what’s going on," Melton said.

The biggest question I have after reading his uncle's comments concerns the notion of Andre "just sitting there waiting." Waiting for what? A trade? A sweetener to his existing contract? A decision on retiring from football altogether?

Chime in with your thoughts in the Comments below.