Andre Johnson not retiring anytime soon

HUMBLE — Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson said he’s recovered from a late-season wrist injury that forced him to miss the Pro Bowl and is fully healthy three months before the annual draft.

“I had played for a few weeks (with the wrist) and it was pretty sore and I didn’t want to go back out there and bang it up anymore,” Johnson said Wednesday at the Golf Club of Houston.

Johnson spoke with the media after receiving a quick golf lesson. He’s holding a charity event March 10 at the club, which will benefit the Houston Area Women’s Center.

“It’s so exciting. We are just thrilled,” said Rebecca White, the center’s president and CEO. “It’s very welcome news. Every year we serve 10s of 1,000s of Houstonians and we do that because we are lucky to be in a very generous community. And this is just another extraordinary example.”

Johnson was his normal low-key self Wednesday. But he willingly addressed multiple topics, including the intrigue surrounding former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, the after effects of being part of last season’s 2-14 Texans and ex-Missouri defensive end Michael Sam’s recent announcement that he’s gay.

Johnson has spent time with Manziel and believes he’s a “great player.”

The Texans hold the No. 1 pick in the May draft. If they select a QB, Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles and Manziel are the leading candidates.

“(Manziel) seems like a good kid. Very into football,” Johnson said. “He’s exciting. He’s an exciting player to watch. I enjoyed watching him in college. He doesn’t have the name Johnny Football for nothing. I think he’s a great player.”

As for Sam, Johnson acknowledged the situation is much more complicated. Johnson highly respects Sam’s courage. But whether he’ll fit in with an NFL team remains to be determined.

“I don’t know. Everybody says what they would do or how they would react or whatever. But you don’t know until you’re in that position,” Johnson said. “As far as we know, he’s the first guy to come out and say it. You have to respect him a lot for that. Because it’s not like he’s being undercover with that or hiding something. The guy’s come out and said it is what it is. To me, I think you respect him more for that than anything, because he’s not hiding anything, he’s not pretending to be someone.”

The veteran wide receiver has barely had time to meet Bill O’Brien, the Texans’ new coach. Johnson said limitations set by the new collective bargaining agreement have initially prevented the two from speaking at length.

“I had a chance to sit down and talk with him once,” Johnson said. “It was a very short conversation.”
The first impression was positive, though.

“He seems like a great guy,” Johnson said. “He seems like he really loves the game of football. He’s very passionate about it. He’s all about team. I think all of those characteristics are great. We’ll just see what happens.”

While the Texans were the worst team in the NFL last season and the 32-year-old Johnson’s entering his 12th season, the seven-time Pro Bowler hasn’t given any thought to ending his career anytime soon.

“I know I’m not a second-, third-, or fourth-year guy. Everything comes to an end at some point,” said Johnson, who started all 16 games in 2013, recording 109 receptions for 1,407 yards and five touchdowns. “But right now I don’t know when it might end. I’m feeling fine. I’m feeling healthy. So I’m going to continue to play as long as I can.

“Everybody knows that day when it’s over. When that day comes, I’ll have no problem stepping away. But right now I feel fine. I feel like I still have a few more years left in me.”


(chron.com)