It seemed as if Andre Johnson instantly stopped being a top receiver the minute that the Houston Texans decided to depart from their franchise record holding wideout. Johnson struggling to find his form in a season that was a disaster for both Johnson and the Colts who had an abysmal 2015.
After having a respectable 85 catch, 936-yard season in his final year with the Texans, the production for Johnson fell off a cliff last season. Johnson compiling half the catches and just creaking over the 500-yard mark with the Colts. Numbers that suggest the 35-year-old Johnson’s days as an elite wideout are over.
However, Johnson isn’t about to give up on finding a happy ending to his successful NFL career as Johnson has made the decision to return for 2016. Remaining in the AFC South and signing with the Tennessee Titans in a move that is an interesting fit for both sides.
Johnson will be joining a young and talented group of receivers in Tennessee where the Titans will be leaning on one of the best wideouts of his era to serve as a leader for the likes of Dorial Green-Beckham and Justin Hunter as well as to give second-year passer Marcus Mariota a veteran target.
The hope for the Titans is that Johnson’s decline in production with the Colts was a cause of the disaster in Indianapolis after Andrew Luck went out for the season. But the numbers for Johnson since his 1,407-yard year in 2013 have not been good, which makes the move to bring him in by the Titans a situation where his impact is hard to gauge going into training camp.
Johnson could either compete for a spot near the top of the Titans depth chart at wideout and round out the receiver position, or he could be a flop who is a shell of his former self. At 35, even for a potential future Hall of Fame talent like Johnson, there is a chance every season that the magic could be completely gone. Even all-time greats like Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and Randy Moss once found out that the playmaking ability they once had was gone in the blink of an eye. Something that could easily happen to Johnson as he inches closer and closer to his late 30s.
If the Titans want to compete in the suddenly competitive AFC South, they will need a version of Andre Johnson that is at least close to a reminder of how great he was for 12 seasons with the Texans. Johnson’s reputation will keep him on the field as long as he wants to play, but the question that will be asked all summer at Titans training camp will be if Johnson can beat the regression trend. It is a question that could determine if the Titans could be a surprise team in the AFC South if Johnson can turn into a productive veteran on an exciting young Tennessee offense.
