Andre the Giant acquisition: Will Johnson move to Jets?
Yet again, Chris Johnson has awoken the beast that is #JetsTwitter, by asserting his plea for the Jets to sign Andre Johnson via his Twitter account.
Back in early April - when the media annointed the Jets as the most probable landing spot for Chris Johson’s services - he caused a stir amongst the fanbase with what appeared to be a code encrypted tweet.
The tweet didn’t suggest much at first glance, other than the fact that he was at the airport. Most assumed the flight was to meet with a team and discuss a contract. But on further review, the four consecutive plane/jet emoji’s deciphered to J-E-T-S by #JetsTwitter – one emoji for each letter in ‘Jets’.
Coincidently, the Jets inked CJ2K to a two-year deal, just eight days after the tweet.
While the tweet is just that, a tweet, imagine the possibilities…
Starting the season with a 2-0 record, the Houston Texans entered the slump of all slumps, losing the next 14 games for a 2-14 record in 2013. This offseason, the Texans traded a struggling Matt Shaub to the Oakland Raiders for a measly 6th round pick, and the team has all the signs of a franchise rebuilding.
That’s not good enough for Andre Johnson.
Yesterday, May 27th, marked the first day of Houston’s OTAs (Organized Team Activities), and Andre was a no-show. Some chalk up the absense to his displeasure with the where the Texans organization is heading, and rightfully so. The 32-year-old wide receiver is entering his 12th season with Houston, and the 7x Pro Bowler has never made it out of the divisional round of the playoffs. He lost both divisional appearances of his career in 2011 and 2012 and has only two post-season wins to show for.
He’s not the only Hall of Fame-calibre player to find himself traveling down this road, but by the sound of it, he doesn’t like the scenery.
Perhaps Andre has a Moss-like approach in mind.
In 2007, Randy Moss was given the opportunity to play with the Patriots when Oakland traded the future Hall of Famer to New England for a 4th round pick. Oakland knew Randy wanted out, and Randy wanted to win before it was too late. He wouldn’t get the Super Bowl he longed for, but boy did he get close. Oh, the possibilities.
Free Agency and the NFL Draft have concluded and teams will be evaluating players in OTA’s, and thereafter training camp, to trim rosters down to meet the final 53. With that, there is still wiggle room.
The New York Jets are among the top teams in remaining salary cap space - $23.5 mil as per OverTheCap.com (4th in the NFL) - and still have the resources to comfortably add a peice or two. Nobody knows if Woody Johnson and John Idzik are willing to take the leap, but who better to trade for than “The Natural”, Andre Johnson.
A natural fit in NY?
The Jets are in obvious need of talent at the wide receiver position. Although they added three wideouts and Amaro in the Draft, as well as Decker through Free Agency, they still lack veteran leadership and experience in the passing game. With Santonio Holmes gone, who didn’t appear to be much of a leader anyway, the team could really use a veteran presence.
Known to be a leader in the locker room and a dominant force on the field, Johnson certainly passes the ‘Play Like a Jet’ test. Last season, he registered outstanding numbers with the Texans who ranked 31st in points and were devoid of a starting calibre signal caller. Andre played all 16 games and had 109 catches for 1407 yards with five touchdowns.
Not only would Andre bring an extreme level of production to a position of need, he would be the ultimate signing to mentor the many young receivers on the Jets roster. Tie that all in with Andre’s 6’3”, 230 pound build, that’ll help a good run game get even better, and he couldn’t make more sense.
I guess the only question left is: Does Woody have enough Johnson?