Andre Johnson is disgruntled and the Houston Texans wide receiver could be in line for a trade this summer after sources from ESPN and NFL.com reported that four teams are interested in trading for the star and some of those could be the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets or Kansas City Chiefs as training camp approaches.
According to Pro Football Talk, Johnson is getting interest from at least four teams and while no deal is close to happening now, there is a chance that the Texans could trade their star wide receiver. The Houston Chronicle reports that Johnson and the team are in dispute and that eventually he will come back into the fold, but so far Johnson has stayed away from all team activities and workouts. Johnson's next deadline is training camp and things could heat up for the two sides once that begins if he continues to stay away, especially with new head coach Bill O'Brien opening things for the first time.
Last season Johnson had another fantastic performance and ended up with 109 receptions for 1,407 yards and five touchdowns despite playing with a so-so Matt Schaub and an undrafted rookie in Case Keenum. The Patriots have been mentioned as a potential option for the Texans to deal Johnson and earlier in the offseason Ryan Mallett was mentioned as a possible player to move, but the Pats are not considering trading him at this time, as they like him as Tom Brady's backup. On top of that, the Texans feel comfortable with Ryan Fitzpatrick as the starter after drafting Tom Savage and they expect him to develop over the next few years.
Patriots.com writes that the team could consider a trade for Johnson, but the salary cap and money implications may not make enough sense for the Texans. The team has to take on over $10 million in dead money and according to ESPN.com, part of the dispute with Johnson in the first place is over a $1 million bonus he felt he should have the chance to earn back. Johnson has stayed away from team activities and he said to the media earlier in the offseason that he wasn't sure if Houston was the place for him in the future and that he doesn't want to be in a rebuilding situation.
Johnson has said that he is willing to restructure his contract in a trade, but that he is not willing to take a pay cut, according to NFL.com. SI.com writes that the Carlonina Panthers could be an option for the Texans, as they lost their top wideouts in free agency and while they drafted Kelvin Benjamin, they may want more weapons for Cam Newton after making the playoffs last season. The Cleveland Browns are a logical option because they have the cap space to make the move and also because they are without Josh Gordon after his off the field issues.
The Texans went 2-14 last season and started off 2-0 before losing the next 14 straight games. The team got the number one overall draft pick and took Jadeveon Clowney.