To this point, most of the retirement speculation surrounding an NFL wide receiver this offseason has centered on Calvin Johnson. But another Hall of Fame-caliber receiver is nearing the end of his career, and Indianapolis Colts wideout Andre Johnson is reportedly considering retirement.
Megatron is not alone among iconic WRs pondering retirement. #Colts WR Andre Johnson, who has played his last down in Indy, has a decision.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 24, 2016
After 12 mostly productive seasons with the Houston Texans in relative obscurity, Johnson moved to the Colts in 2015 with an eye on winning a Super Bowl before his career was over. Things obviously did not go as planned for the team, due in part to quarterback Andrew Luck missing substantial time to injuries, and Johnson was not very productive with just 41 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns. Age (35 in July) and $7.5 million in total compensation for this year has fueled talk that the Colts will cut Johnson, which is all but certain to happen, but it looks like he doesn’t want to try to latch on elsewhere and will instead retire.
If Johnson’s career is indeed over, he currently sits eighth in league history in receptions (1,053), ninth in receiving yards (14,100) and ninth in receiving yards per game (76.2). All of those numbers are also top-10 among active players, which is not surprising, and his 68 receiving touchdowns rank ninth among active players.
Johnson is definitely a Hall of Famer unless voters hold not having a Super Bowl ring against him indefinitely through the process. But with a continuous and building logjam of worthy wide receivers, Johnson is in line to wait quite a while before seeing his bust in Canton.
