The Houston Texans may look at an Andre Johnson trade this offseason and this comes as Bill O'Brien likely will bring in a new quarterback through trades or free agency, as names like Jay Cutler, Robert Griffin III, Brian Hoyer, Kirk Cousins, Ryan Mallett and Mark Sanchez could be potential quarterback targets heading into the 2015 season.
Johnson has been mentioned in trade rumors in each of the past two seasons and now the team may seriously look at a deal, as he has a huge contract coming up for 2015. According to the Houston Chronicle, Johnson likely will have to take a pay cut to remain with the Texans moving forward and if that doesn't happen, it's likely that he will be traded or released into the 2015 season. Johnson had a sort of hold out last year and trade speculation ran rampant before he reported to camp with O'Brien coming in for his first season.
The Texans had one of the best bounce back years of anyone in the league, as the team went from 2-14 to a winning record and some have argued they were good enough to have been a playoff team. Tania Ganguli wrote after the season that had the Texans had better play from the quarterback position this year, they likely would have been in the postseason. O'Brien used a number of quarterbacks, including Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Case Keenum and Tom Savage, but now of those players did enough to be a definite starter in 2015.
Fitzgerald likely will be gone or the backup next year, while Mallett is a free agent and Savage still needs some development before he can be a legit starter. O'Brien traded for Mallett in an expected move last year and while he could return, the team may look at other options on the market. Cutler could be available in a trade with the Bears, while the Redskins and RG3 also could be a partner, but Scot McCloughan said that Griffin needs more time to develop.
Mallett, Sanchez and Hoyer are all on the free agent market and could be targets for the Texans this year. The team may look at making a move with Johnson, as he has a huge contract that has him getting $10.5 million guaranteed in 2015 and he also has a $16 million salary cap hit, which is tough for a 33 year old receiver. Johnson had a solid season with 85 catches for 936 yards, but he only had three TDs and was down from his numbers in 2012-2013.
The Texans come into the offseason after going 9-7 overall and 4-2 in the division and now they have the chance to get even better in 2015. Arian Foster had a great season and led the team with over 1200 yards, while DeAndre Hopkins led with 1210 yards receiving. The emergence of Hopkins makes a potential move with Johnson easier to swallow, as he has shown he can be a playmaker. The team ranked 24th in the league in passing yards per game last season and that is where they need to improve, as they ranked fifth in rushing yards per game this past year.