NFL Trade Rumors: Andre Johnson May Join Eagles, Bengals, Browns or Raiders?

By Nens Bolilan| Jul 18, 2014

The Andre Johnson trade plot thickens. According to a Fox Sports report,while he had said he was not sure if he would suit up for the Houston Texans on Week 1, the star wide receiver is reportedly asking for trade—with NFL.com saying he has four teams eyeing him.

Some quarters say the wedge stems from Johnson missing training and a resulting $1-million loss by the athlete, the Fox report claim. Due the amount on Week 1 for showing up for the offseason workouts, he had hoped working out harder to make up for his absences could earn back the hefty amount. Johnson, the Grantland says, is a soft-spoken player who does his job well but things have turned sour quickly.

The Texans declined, and the trade request surfaced afterwards, the report adds. He had previously taken offense at the team's need for a top-flight quarterback. Reportedly fed up with losing and down to a few years in the league, he wanted out of a planned rebuild by the Texans.

The "tired of losing" angle makes reasonable the storyline that, as the 33-year-old's abilities are wearing down with age, his moves are an attempt at a Super Bowl ring, which the report mentioned. Asking where Andre Johnson could land, it came up with four possible scenarios. He could be with the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals or, well, Houston Texans, it said.

Another NFL.com report says the trade could be with the New England Patriots, Browns, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs or Oakland Raiders

The Houston team is an "obvious" choice, Grantland said, with the Texans able to fine Johnson $30,000 for every day of training camp he is a no-show. The trade would therefore be too expensive for Johnson, it adds, saying that the Texans have the upper hand.

Another Fox Sports article says that one player believed Johnson "is Houston," making it much harder for the Texans to let him go. "He is Houston," Arian Foster was quoted as telling KPRC in Houston, saying he would want the icon to still suit up for the local team. "Everywhere I go, this is still Dre's city. I don't care if James Harden is walking around, Dwight Howard, whatever. This is Andre Johnson's city. He is Houston. That's what it means more than anything. He's been a staple here for so long."

"I understand where he's coming from, I really do," Foster said in the same interview cited by the Fox report, reacting to the rumor that Johnson's self-initiated trade is for a championship. "This is a business and people forget this is a business and he's at a point in his career where he doesn't want money now. He wants to go win."

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