Texans begin new-look mini-camp without Andre Johnson

The Texans were a very different looking team in their first voluntary mini-camp practice Tuesday morning. Their helmets had no bull decals on them. The offense was wearing blue jerseys and the defense white, exactly the opposite of how they dressed under Gary Kubiak. And said jerseys were adorned with only numbers, not names.

There was no Matt Schaub under center, of course. And there was also no Andre Johnson, either. Schaub is an Oakland Raider now. Johnson remains a Texan – he’s still the face of the Texans going into his 12th season with the team – and he hasn’t publicly expressed any unhappiness about that fact despite last fall’s 2-14 disaster. O’Brien, asked for his take on Johnson’s absence, demurred, saying: “(Participation) is voluntary. We just coach who shows up.”

Historically, Johnson has always shown up with the rarest of exceptions, so it seemed odd he would be missing on the first day with a new coach, his fourth in Houston. He was drafted before Dom Capers’ second season, played here for Gary Kubiak’s entire run and answered to the interim man Wade Phillips for the final three games in 2013.


(chron.com)