Andre Johnson has some regrets about his 14-year NFL career, much of which he spent with the Houston Texans from 2003-14.
As a former first-round pick from Miami, Johnson came to the AFC South club and helped put them on the map by the end of his tenure with three winning seasons, two division titles, and two playoff wins.
Johnson joined “The HD Connection” with Harry Douglas to talk about his original draft team and their friction with three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson. Johnson actually applauds Watson’s hardline stance with the Texans, even to the point of requesting a trade, and wishes he had been so bold during his playing days.
“I always tell them I wish I was a little more selfish and not always being just a team guy,” Johnson said. “Because things that you want the organization to do, they’re not always going to do it, but I think sometimes the organization don’t listen to what you have to say.”
Johnson elucidated that players of the unique position of being inside the organization at the field level and in the locker room, which provides a broad spectrum of analyses that would otherwise be helpful to a franchise.
“I think sometimes top people in the organization, they just don’t listen to players,” said Johnson. “And that’s something that I felt like I had to deal with a lot when I was here.”
The 39-year-old is especially miffed at the way chairman and CEO Cal McNair indicated Watson would be involved in the coaching and general manager hires, but ultimately he was not.
Said Johnson: “For him to be told that he was going to be involved in the coaching hire and the GM hire, and not receive a call, that’s BS to me. This is your franchise quarterback. How can you not involve him in it?”
If Johnson played hardball with the Texans in the late 2000s as Watson is now, it may have changed the course of the franchise, or it would have let Houston sports fan know quickly which objectives the franchise values the most.
