Andre Johnson may be a member of the Houston Texans Ring of Honor, but his loyalties will always be with NFL players.
The former All-Pro wideout for the Texans joined “The HD Connection” with Harry Douglas to talk about the situation Houston’s NFL franchise find themselves in with three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“Do I really want Deshaun to leave Houston? No,” Johnson told the former Atlanta Falcons and Tennessee Titans receiver. “Because I want to see the organization do well. But at the end of the day, I want him to do what’s best for him, and if not being here is best for him, then he don’t need to be here.”
The candid conversation Johnson had with Douglas follows after a month ago he lashed out at the Texans and executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby in a tweet.
Johnson is as quiet and team-player off the field, after his career as he was when he was with Houston from 2003-14. The 39-year-old had a unique job with the organization from 2019-20 where he was an assistant coach, a scout, and was an assistant to the general manager. Johnson left the Texans in August of 2020, but no explanation was given as to why he was stepping away from his three-fold position. Inferences could be made, but Johnson never publicly stated what they were.
The Texans have gone on the record multiple times in 2021 stating they have no intention to trade Watson, and even new coach David Culley said he took the job with the expectation Watson would be on the team. Nevertheless, the organizational missteps since the firing of coach and general manager Bill O’Brien on Oct. 5, 2020, have proven disastrous and threaten to revert the Texans back to a non-competitive state not seen since their first few seasons as an expansion team.
