Andre Johnson informed the Tennessee Titans on Monday that he plans to retire after 14 seasons. He ends a remarkably productive NFL career that deserves to be recognized with enshrinement in Canton one day.
Johnson spent the bulk of his career stuck on middling Texans teams, which limited his exposure on a national level. Quiet final stops in Indy and Tennessee kept one of his generation's great receivers in the shadows.
What we should remember is that Johnson was a bad man in his heyday. He turned Matt Schaub into a Pro Bowl quarterback, for crying out loud! You know who doesn't need to be reminded today that Andre Johnson was a bad man? Former Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan, who caught a whipping from Johnson during a game in 2010.
By the grace of God, NFL Films had Johnson wired for sound on that afternoon in Houston. Today, we resurface it here in honor of the great playmaker.
You gotta love Johnson's half-hearted apology in the postgame locker room when everyone in the stadium, including the guys in both locker rooms, knew Finnegan absolutely deserved it.
Thousands of wide receivers had fantasized about going off on Cortland Finnegan before that day. Andre Johnson was special enough to live the dream.
