Houston Texans Owner Bob McNair Implies That Andre Johnson Has Lost a Step

Andre Johnson will go down as one of the better wide receivers to ever play the game. So when the news broke that he was going to be leaving the Houston Texans it was not received well. Fans hated to see one of the longest tenured Texans go, but management had told him he was going to play a smaller part in the offense going forward and he didn't like that.

Some fans wondered why that was going to be the case. Okay, so he wasn't the No. 1 anymore, but there isn't anyone else on the roster that is good enough to be the No. 2 option. So why get rid of him?

via Twitter

As it turns out it's because management thinks he has lost a step.

Team owner Bob McNair did not come right out and say as much while talking to reporters during the owner's meeting in Arizona. It was heavily implied though. This is what McNair had to say after being asked if he was suprised to find out Johnson didn't think he would be back with the team after the 2014 season before it started:

"Every athlete I think would like to play forever. They never want to acknowledge that they’ve lost a step or they can’t quite do what they did before. Just look at history. Look at all the players. It just happens time and time again. We don’t like to acknowledge that we’re getting older. None of us do. That’s just human nature, and I don’t think that’s going to change. ... They’re used to being a star and they’d like to continue being a star. I don’t blame 'em, I understand that."

The good thing is that beyond this comment (which Johnson will almost certainly not like) the split was handled pretty amicably by both. So when the time to hang up the cleats does come for Johnson there should be no problem with him going back to Houston to do it.

[ESPN]

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