By Jordan Long
On Monday, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Andre Johnson made a surprising move. He decided to retire after 14 NFL seasons. Could the next stop be the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Johnson was drafted by the Houston Texans 3rd overall in the 2003 NFL draft. In his rookie year he made an immediate impact with 66 catches for 976 yards and 4 touchdowns. That was just a taste of what he could do in the NFL. 2012 Johnson had his best year in Houston when he had 1,598 yards receiving and 4 touchdowns. Johnson spent a total of 12 years in Houston where he went over the 1,000-yard mark seven times.
In the 2015 offseason, the Colts signed Johnson to a three year $21 million contract. I was excited for him when Johnson made the deal. I thought this would make the Colts offense better. Johnson finally had a Pro Bowl quarterback in Andrew Luck throwing him the football. I figured this could be one of the best quarterback and wide receiver tandems in the NFL. It didn’t last. He spent one season in a Colts’ uniform. It was a disappointing season for Johnson with 503 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The Colts released him on March 4, 2016.
The Tennessee Titans decided to take a chance on Johnson this past offseason. They were hoping his experience would help the Titans improve in the passing game. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. Johnson had a career low 9 receptions for 85 yards.
Johnson leaves the game as one of the best wide receivers to play in the NFL. He is 10th on the all-time receiving yards list with 14,185 yards and 9th in receptions with 1,062. Johnson was voted to the Pro Bowl 7 times. The only thing missing on his resume is a Super Bowl. He never played in one.
Johnson should be in the Hall of Fame in five years. His body of work tells his story. I will always remember him being a deep threat who could outrun the defensive backs for the football. Those catches were for long gains or touchdowns.
What do you think Andre Johnson’s chances are to be selected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
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