Bob McNair Asked About Andre Johnson, Responds With Telling Remarks About Age And Deterioration

Tania Ganguli teased it earlier today:

Promised this a few days back, but on Monday Bob McNair and I spoke about Andre Johnson. He had some interesting thoughts. #Texans

— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 25, 2015

Then she wrote a story that justified the intrigue. Yes, I'd say this qualifies as "interesting thoughts" from the owner of the Houston Texans.

"Every athlete I think would like to play forever," McNair said when I asked if he was surprised to hear [Andre] Johnson felt even before last season that he would be gone from the Texans after 2014. "They never want to acknowledge that they’ve lost a step or they can’t quite do what they did before. Just look at history. Look at all the players. It just happens time and time again. We don’t like to acknowledge that we’re getting older. None of us do. That’s just human nature, and I don’t think that’s going to change. ... They’re used to being a star and they’d like to continue being a star. I don’t blame 'em, I understand that."

I think it's fair to infer that Bob McNair is saying Andre Johnson has lost a step. And he's not wrong; Andre Johnson, who will turn 34 before the season starts, is not the same player he was at 28. But 'Dre is a single year removed from a season of 109 catches and 1,407 receiving yards, and two years removed from a season of 112 catches and 1,598 receiving yards. Andre Johnson is still a very good football player.

I suppose I just don't understand why McNair would answer Ganguli's question in that fashion. What does the owner of the Texans gain by responding to a question about the departure of the greatest player in franchise history with talk of players losing a step? Why not take a page from Bill O'Brien's handbook and simply praise Andre Johnson for all he's done in the NFL and all he did for the Texans?

Your thoughts? Did McNair go too far? Or does Andre Johnson's current status as a member of the Indianapolis Colts render him subject to this sort of treatment from his former employer? Or perhaps you have no issue with McNair's comments on the basis of the truth is the truth is the truth. Share your reaction in the Comments.