The team has Zero incentive to trade him. His contract makes him very difficult to move .... lots of dead money for the team & they will get pennies on the dollar in return for his ability.
Just look at what some other high profile players have been traded for in recent years .... then realize what the team loses on the field & in terms of cap space.
The team has ..... Zero incentive to trade him.
If I'm Rick Smith in this case , I have to tell #80 to either show up and collect his millions or .... retire. The team gets more out of this scenario than trading him.
That's the harsh reality.
Very true, man. While I'm an AJ fan like most everyone else, I'm a Texans fan first and foremost. We will be Texans fans when AJ's career is a distant memory.
That said, I still cannot help but reminisce about another HoF player in Houston football history and how things could have gone better. I guess I always envisioned AJ playing his career out in Houston and giving us a heads up for his last season so fans could honor him accordingly. But, real life has a way of twisting and turning, so rarely is there a storybook ending like Elway or Ray Lewis got with retiring after winning a championship.
Ultimately, all of this will be judged in 20/20 hindsight after it all plays out, and much will depend on AJ's decisions and how much success O'Brien brings to this franchise.
My hope is that all of this does not leave some form of cancer that infects the attitudes of other players down the road. Specifically, one JJ Watt and his future with the franchise. Just speculating now, though, so nothing but food for thought and discussion.
Andre won't make the Hall of Fame with his current numbers (especially with Isaac Bruce, Harrison, Moss, and TO ahead of him in line), so I doubt playing a year or two with mediocre QBs throwing to him appeals much if he wants to make the Hall.
If we take off our homer glasses and truly analyze his career, you are correct. AJ certainly has the talent to be worthy of the HoF, but we know getting inducted is more than just talent. It is about numbers and career achievements, and in that regard, being a Texan for 11 seasons have certainly held him back in that regard.
There is a long waiting list of WRs to the HoF, and it's just going to get longer with the current arena-league trend in the NFL toward making the passing game a lot easier.
If the Texans were going to deal Johnson they would have done it during the draft. I don't think McNair wants to sell a Andre trade to his fan base. Obrien needs to insert his leadership now.
yep. This is where the Belichickian silence is going to hurt O'Brien, not about the fan base, but the team he is trying to build. AJ is a friend and leader to many of these Texans players, so how he is treated by the head coach is going to reverberate in that locker room for years to come.
What is tough for us fans right now is trying to analyze a coach with so many unknown qualities. O'Brien is so new to us that we are collectively having a tough time really putting our finger on the pulse of this franchise right now.
