Andre Johnson retires from NFL after 14 seasons

Longtime Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson today announced his retirement from the NFL after 14 seasons.

Johnson spent twelve seasons with the Texans before spending a season with the Colts in 2015 and then this year with the Titans, playing for three of the four AFC South teams. A seven-time Pro Bowler and a two-time first-team All-Pro, Johnson caught 1,062 passes for 14,185 yards and 70 touchdowns in his career, currently ranking ninth in career receptions and tenth in career receiving yards. He had seven 1,000+ yard receiving seasons and five 100+ catch seasons, and he accomplished it all while playing for mostly sub-par quarterbacks in Houston.

He joined the Colts as a free agent in 2015 as a big veteran signing, but it didn’t work out. Though he played in all 16 games and started 14, he caught just 41 passes for 503 yards and four touchdowns in 2015. He was always a professional about it, but it was clear that he had lost a step. They cut him after one year, and he wound up signing with the Titans. In eight games this year, however, he caught just nine passes for 85 yards and two scores.

It’s the second week in a row in which one of the best Texans of all-time has decided to retire, as last week running back Arian Foster hung up his cleats and now this week Johnson is doing the same. He has a resume that could warrant his inclusion in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, and he had a heck of a career in Houston despite some of the quarterback play he had to endure. He was a great player, but I don’t think any Colts fans who saw him play for the team last year are too surprised to see him call it quits.