How will Andre Johnson help the Tennessee Titans?
By Jon Dove
The Tennessee Titans have added Andre Johnson to their receiving corps with a hope he can turn back the clock.
According to reports, Andre Johnson has signed with the Tennessee Titans as training camps kick off around the league. Johnson is 35 years old and coming off a terrible year with the Indianapolis Colts.
He finished last year with 41 catches, 503 yards and 4 touchdowns. Tennessee is hoping that his lack of production was due to some poor circumstances with the Colts. Indianapolis’ passing attack was less than effective thanks to an injury to Andrew Luck and issues along the offensive line.
It’s possible that a lot of Johnson’s struggles came due to the turmoil around him. However, his age is a concern and he appears to have lost a step or two.
Johnson will need to perform early in training camp to hold on to a roster spot. The Titans have a large group of receivers battling for a job. Many of those are younger players who have the potential to get better.
Rishard Matthews, Dorial Green-Beckham and Kendall Wright are locks to stick on the roster. Rookie Tajae Sharpe and 2nd year player Tre McBride have coaches on the staff that will fight to keep them around.
There’s also veteran Harry Douglas who is a solid performer and strong locker room presence. Justin Hunter’s roster spot was in question before the Johnson signing thanks to his inconsistency and failure to develop.
Basically, Johnson has his work cut out for him and little time to make an impression. He’s likely battling Sharpe, McBride, Douglas and Hunter for a spot on the team.
Signing with a team that has a lot of depth at the position shows that there isn’t much of a market for the aging Johnson. He might have been better off waiting for an injury to occur and a hole opening up on another roster.