The Houston Texans are dealing with Andre Johnson trade rumors and teams like the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and NY Jets could all be interested in making a move if he continues to stay away from team activities heading into training camp and even if the Texans don't want to trade their top receiver, he may not give them another choice if he doesn't buy in to Bill O'Brien's new system.
The Texans have not made a decision yet on trading Johnson or not and they will have a chance to see what happens when training camp opens if he will be present or not. According to ESPN.com, Johnson has been away from all team activities this summer and he has made it clear that he isn't planning on showing up to team mandatory activities either and that is what could force the hand of the team. New head coach Bill O'Brien has said that all his conversations with Johnson have been positive, but if he doesn't show up to training camp, it will be a major issue for the team.
Johnson has been the best player in franchise history and he holds nearly all records for WRs and offensive players and he is coming off of another good year going for 109 catches for 1,407 yards and five touchdowns despite playing with a bad Matt Schaub and an undrafted rookie in Case Keenum. The team won its first two games before losing the next 14 in a row and that could be part of why Johnson has been frustrated, as he is not looking to play on a rebuilding team once again. Johnson spoke about being in the playoffs just a couple times since coming into the NFL and now the team could be rebuilding again.
Johnson may not get traded, but if he does, teams like the Raiders, Browns and Patriots could be interested. The Texans may not try to trade him, as deals this late in the offseason do not usually go down, but Johnson is not a typical player. The Raiders and Browns have the cap space to make the move, while the Patriots could use a legit number one receiver. The Browns may lose Josh Gordon for the season and that could spark them to make a move, especially if Johnny Manziel gets on the field at all in 2014. The Patriots likely will not make this move, as they usually do not make big name trades like this before training camp and this year should be no different.
The Texans come into the season after going 2-14 last year and they ranked 20th in the league in rushing yards per game and 15th in passing yards. The team dealt with injuries on offense and after losing Ben Tate, they will need Arian Foster to step up and stay healthy for a full season. Johnson is a massive talent and a very durable and productive player and the Texans do not want to trade him unless they have no other choice.
