Houston Texans: Who Will Replace Andre Johnson as Captain?
With Andre Johnson having traded a Texans’ uniform in order to sport a Colts’ jersey this offseason, there is a vacancy in captaincy. Houston has several capable leaders on both sides of the ball, but it may be time to replace the 12 year veteran with some younger blood. That being said, here are the top 3 replacements who are primed to fill the big shoes No. 80 left behind.
Ok fine, there’s really only one clear-cut choice, in my opinion.
Who better to move the Captains’ patch to, other than “Little ‘Andre”?
- He had a breakout year last year (1,200 yards and 6 touchdowns) and was “disappointed with himself.” Sounds like a leader to me.
- He studied under Andre himself for two seasons and appeared to pick up the steely-gaze demeanor that fans came to know and love each Sunday.
- Finally, he’s dangerous without the ball. Defenses respect DeAndre’s route-running knack for finding seams and embarrassing secondaries, under pressure.
While captaincy may not hold the exact same weight on NFL teams as it does in the NBA, FIFA and the NHL, it still plays a quintessential role in developing players into field generals who you can place your trust in, both on and off the field.
If you plan on building a dynasty in the NFL anytime soon, you need to plan on installing a unit that promotes from within, and you cannot accomplish this without publicly establishing who the models are, inside the squad. And while it’s a tradition that’s only been around since 2007, don’t underestimate the value of recognizing a guy who’s leaving it all on the field for teammates to take note of.
We’ll see who sports the “C” across their shoulder, come August but until then, you can count on inner circle meetings between head coach Bill O’Brien and his staff, bent on determining which young players best represent the future of the franchise.
C’mon guys, you can’t name J.J. Watt captain six times each game.