Andre Johnson is one step closer to football immortality.
After a stellar career with the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and the Tennessee Titans, Andre Johnson is a semifinalist for the 2002 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. Other wide receivers who made the list with Johnson are Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin, Panthers/ Ravens WR Steve Smith, and Bears WR/KR/PR Devin Hester.
Back when the candidates were selected in the summer, I wrote a post saying why Johnson should get into the Hall of Fame before Boldin, but so far, they seem to be moving together in the process.
During his 12-year stint with the Texans, Johnson accrued over 13,000 receiving yards and 64 touchdowns through the air. That’s still 5,000 more than former Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins had (~8.6K yards), with tight end Owen Daniels taking third on the all-time receiving yards list (~4.6K yards).
Andre Johnson has a chance to be the first Houston Texans player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Technically former Ravens safety Ed Reed shows up on the website as part of the Texans who are inducted into the Hall of Fame, but Reed was drafted by Baltimore and not Houston. So Johnson potentially becoming the first representative for the Texans would be ideal.
Johnson is a beloved player and arguably the one player that many think of when the best Texans of all time are brought up. However, after a short stint as part of the Texans’ staff, he stepped away in August 2020. When asked why Johnson stated that he felt it was the right time after spending so much time around the organization. Johnson is now a “Texans Ambassador.”
Congratulations to Mr. Johnson, and here’s to having more to write about as he continues his path into one of pro football’s greatest honors.