It has been very obvious throughout the offseason that Andre Johnson is not happy with the Houston Texans. The veteran wide receiver has already missed both organized team activities and minicamp and chosen to work out on his own. Now, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that Johnson has informed the Texans he wants to be traded or released.
The biggest reason for the divide between Johnson and the Texans supposedly has to do with a $1 million workout bonus. By skipping some workouts, Johnson gave up his right to the bonus money. He recently asked the team if he could earn it back by putting in extra work and was told he could not.
That furthered the divide between Johnson and the Texans, driving a wedge between the parties. That caused Johnson to tell them he wanted to play for another team. He is now working out, “not thinking about the Texans,” a source said.
As he has expressed publicly, Johnson believes the team is rebuilding, and he has said he has doubts about if he wants to take part in another similar process, as he has several times in his career.
Johnson wondered out loud if “Houston is the place for me” back in May. The 32-year-old has restructured his contract in each of the past three seasons to make his deal more team friendly, and he was reportedly hoping that the Texans would return the favor by allowing him to earn back the $1 million bonus. On Wednesday, Johnson was noncommittal when asked if he will show up to training camp.
“Hopefully. We’ll see what happens,” he told NFL Media’s Marcus Smith. “Training camp’s three weeks away, so we’ll see what happens.”
Rapoport says four teams have expressed interest in trading for Johnson, though the Texans have given no indication that they are willing to deal him.
This is obviously about much more than just a $1 million workout bonus. Johnson is scheduled to make $28 million over the next three seasons, so he could just report to work and collect his paycheck if money was the issue. He’s sick of losing and is finding creative ways to show it.
