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Texans gave Andre Johnson permission to seek a trade. Told him he'd have a reduced role next season. He asked to be traded or cut instead.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 3, 2015
Well, there you you have it. The second year of the Bill O'Brien Era in Houston will apparently begin without our longtime WR1, Andre Johnson. We Texans fans have known that 'Dre is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, but we honestly expected him to complete his entire career in Houston, wearing our colors. Apparently, despite Bob McNair's oft-stated fondness for 'Dre and all that Dre has done for us, OB is prepared to focus his offense around a different WR.
If no trade can't be worked out for Johnson, he'll be cut and free to sign with any team after 12 seasons with the Texans.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 3, 2015
Some of us saw the writing on the wall with 'Dre's cap hits, his injury-plagued year last season that resulted in lower stats (not to mention the hot mess at QB), and his decision to avoid OTAs last offseason. But this is not how I expected his Houston career to end--in early March, with him allegedly being told to either find a trade partner or try to make his way in the free agent market.
Texans didn't discuss contract with Johnson, but if he'd returned in reduced role, he would have been asked to take less than $10.5 base.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 3, 2015
Part of the issue is that 'Dre is a WR1, and I can't think of any franchises in need of a WR1 that have the cap space for him and don't have a high draft pick where they can draft a 1.
***Update: In addition to releasing an Instagram message, Dre's agent has spoken.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Johnson's agent, Kennard McGuire: "Time has come.It has been a great run, but as you know in the sports world there is a shelf life" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a></p>— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/status/572609050069880832">March 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Andre Johnson's agent, Kennard McGuire, continued: "He looks forward to challenging for a Super Bowl." <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash">#Texans</a></p>— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/status/572609208815886336">March 3, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Comment, rail against the injustice, honor his Houston contributions, and question where we'll find his replacement below.