Andre Johnson Trade Rumors: 6 Potential Landing Spots
It’s been over a month since Houston Texans star wide receiver Andre Johnson voiced his displeasure about the rebuilding process with his team. The 33-year old wasn’t too excited about veteran passer Ryan Fitzpatrick being the only big name addition at quarterback, and naturally wasn’t thrilled with the team hiring a rookie head coach and completely starting over from scratch.
That led to assumptions that he’d want to move on, away from the Texans. Now it’s official.
Per reports, Johnson has informed Houston that he “wants to play for another team”. At 33 years old (on Friday), Johnson apparently doesn’t want to waste his last good years on a losing or semi-competitive team.
That only makes sense. It makes even more sense for Houston, too, if they can get some value in return. After all, DeAndre Hopkins is their number one receiver of the future, and they probably don’t need a stud receiver like Johnson as bad as they used to, as they look to be a more run-balanced offense than ever before.
That doesn’t mean Johnson is as good as gone, but the door should be considered at least a crack open. With Johnson wanting out and preseason play now not even a full month away, it might be a good time to look at Johnson’s trade options.
Let’s break down five realistic suitors that could help make a deal to get Johnson out of Houston this summer:
1. Cleveland Browns
Josh Gordon is probably done for the year thanks to smoking too much weed, which leaves rookie passer Johnny Manziel with just Miles Austin and Nate Burleson to throw to. That’s not good enough. Cleveland should look into trying to acquire Johnson, as he’d provide a major upgrade at the position.
2. New England Patriots
New England struggled on offense last year mostly because of injuries, but even with all their guys back at full strength they still lack a big play-making wide receiver. Johnson could be that guy. They also seem to love bringing in veterans and draining any life they have left out of them, so this makes as much sense as anywhere else.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
Dwayne Bowe already looks like a shell of his former self and KC has no other scary talent at wide receiver. They neglected to add some via the draft or free agency, so unless they make a random splash (like, you know, trading for Andre Johnson), their passing game might be a little too predictable in 2014.
4. Detroit Lions
Megatron is a beast and Golden Tate was a solid addition, but why not aim even higher? Johnson would be a ridiculously scary #2 option opposite of Johnson, while Tate suddenly operating as the third option would also be dangerous. This is a move the Lions could do to push their offense over the top, and then some.
5. Carolina Panthers
Carolina might have the biggest need of all here. They still have a talented tight end and some veteran receivers with reliable hands, but Cam Newton probably deserves better. Johnson would immediately vault to Carolina’s top receiver spot and be playing for a legit contender – something that is clearly fairly important to him.
6. St. Louis Rams
The Rams play in the brutal NFC West, but they also don’t have a true go-to wide receiver. Johnson could be that guy, which would do wonders to open things up for the likes of Tavon Austin and Jared Cook in the passing game, as well as the running game in general.
If the Texans just give up and unload Johnson for the best value, he’ll probably go to the Browns or Rams. If they actually listen to him and send him where he wants to go, it’s likely going to be down to the Panthers or Patriots. Given that Tom Brady is under center still, the slight edge probably goes to New England.
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