espn.com Houston hopes Johnson will boost wideout corps HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans gave quarterback David Carr a new target Tuesday, signing their No. 1 draft pick, wide receiver Andre Johnson. ESPN.com reported last Friday in a "Tip Sheet" column that many of the most essential elements of the contract, a seven-year deal in which the final season is voidable, already had been agreed to in principle and that all that basically remained was to commit the deal to contract language. It is believed the contract is similar in many ways to the one signed by the third player chosen in the 2002 draft, Detroit Lions quarterback Joey Harrington, who received a six-year deal that the NFL Players Association assessed as worth up to $48 million. Sources told ESPN.com that the initial signing bonus and second-tier option bonus for Johnson total about $13.501 million. Johnson will join Texans receivers Corey Bradford and Jabar Gaffney in helping the Texans bolster their receiving, ranked last in the NFL last season. Johnson, the third overall pick in the NFL draft, caught 92 passes for 1,831 yards and 20 touchdowns and played in two national championship games for Miami. He finished fifth on Miami's all-time list and he also had 11 receptions for 253 yards in two bowl games. Only Michael Irvin (26) and Lamar Thomas (23) have more career touchdowns than Johnson. In Miami's 2001 national championship game, Johnson caught seven passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns and shared Rose Bowl MVP honors with quarterback Ken Dorsey.
houstontexans.com Signed, sealed and delivered July 22, 2003 By Carter Toole HoustonTexans.com For all of his speed, there was one footrace Andre Johnson wasn't going to win. Johnson, the third overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, couldn't possibly be the fastest first-round draft selection to sign with the Texans. After all, Houston quarterback David Carr inked his contract before the first day of the 2002 draft had even concluded. But it was imperative to get Johnson to camp on time, both for him and the Texans, whether it was a few days or a few minutes before the club hunkered down for training camp. Mission accomplished. The Texans announced Tuesday that they have signed Johnson, the prolific wide receiver out of Miami. Johnson will report for camp Thursday along with the rest of his teammates. First up is a press conference later today to make it all official. "We're thrilled to have Andre in camp on time," Texans general manager Charley Casserly said. "Andre made a commitment to us back when we drafted him that he would be here for training camp and he followed through with it." The Texans are now two for two in getting first-round picks signed before camp. Johnson picked up the offense quickly during the club's mini-camps but a full slate of training camp practices will be crucial in his development as a receiver, not to mention his timing with Carr. "Andre certainly has the athletic talent," Texans head coach Dom Capers said. "He's big, he's strong and he's fast. And he's been picking up things quickly in the classroom, he's done a nice job there. That has helped him gain confidence." While Johnson has been working on the football side of things, his uncle, Andre Melton, has been helping him with the business side of the equation. Johnson parted ways with agent Jeff Moorad and hooked up last week with UM law professor Don West. The change didn't affect the ultimate goal and Johnson is just glad to have the negotiations behind him. Now he can devote his full attention to learning Houston's offense. "I think this offense has a lot of opportunity, not just for one person, but at every position," Johnson said. "Right now, it’s a really fun offense."
Was the "finally" deliberate? If so I think it's unjustified, how many other first round namely top ten guys have signed? Isn't he one of the first signed among this group.
Yes, it was deliberate. I don't know who else has signed. I know Rogers hasn't signed yet. Anyway, the 'finally' was merely all my waiting and anticipation for the season to start all in one breath.
Yeah, I think the finally was probably unnecessary. We got him in before training camp, that's all that matters!
Im picking Andre to have a breakout year and to win R.O.Y easily. I see him catching atleast 10 touchdowns.
I LOVE your optimism. I know it's tough for Rookie recievers NOT named Randy Moss to excell. I think AJ has the tools, natural ability, and smarts to become a great reciever. Not only that, he'll push Jabbar Gaffney's a little harder (I heard he was kind of a loafer). I DON'T think, however, he'll win rookie of the year. I think he'll finish the season with abouy 65 receptions for 875 yards or so (working out to about 13 yrds/reception) and maybe 5 - 7 TD's. That would put him at the David Patten, Curtis Conway level (stat wise) as a rook, which would be outstanding. If this does happen, I would be a VERY happy man.
He's clearly going to be a good one for years to come. I just hope we don't expect too much from him as a rookie playing on a 2nd year expansion team.
It's a definite improvement in the receiving corps from last year. Gaffney and Johnson, Bradford 3rd option, Miller at TE for receiving, Jopporu at TE for blocking; that's solid. Texans 16-0 next year!! We're expecting too much from a rookie WR. There haven't been too many that impacted a team to the extent Randy Moss did. I agree with eric.81: Let's just hope he gets better every year. I'd take a consistently improving AJ than a one-year wonder. Still, the Texans look drastically improved. Now if we could just do something about that damn offensive line...
The Rams waived Terrence Wilkins today. He would be a nice addition to the Texans IMHO. He is a decent punt returner and had a fairly good season as a reciever 2 years ago with the Colts.
Man, they have a pic of Andre Johnson the HoustonTexans.com website, and the FOOL is HUGE!! Built like a linebacker...
