NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Wednesday that veteran receiver is done playing for the Indianapolis Colts. what isn’t known is if the 14-year veteran will be cut or if he will retire. If Johnson decides that he wants to continue playing football, the Colts would be forced to cut him.
And if that happens, the team would end up with a crazy $7.5 million in dead money toward the salary cap. Rapoport reported that Johnson undecided on the matter as the Colts are praying he opts to retire. The Colts really hurt themselves here, putting themselves at the mercey of and older, declining player.
Last March, they signed Johnson to a 3-year, $21 million deal after he was released by the Houston Texans. Johnson was one of the NFL’s best receivers for a decade in Houston, but those days were clearly at an end. These days, Johnson struggles to get separation on routes and he never developed a rapport with quarterback Andrew Luck.
The Colts have No. 1 receiver T.Y. Hilton, in place with 2015 1st-round pick Phillip Dorsett ready to emerge in year two. So Johnson’s $7.5 million would be dead money even if the Colts kept him. And with the way Johnson has looked lately at age 34, the market should be pretty soft for him so his best option is to force the Colts to cut him then retire.
That $7.5 million would receiver from the Colts would be his retirement gift from the NFL. Put that together with wasting money on running back Frank Gore and that’s a double-whammy in free agency. Since the no-brainer move of taking quarterback Andrew Luck No. 1 overall in 2012, GM Ryan Grigson has been so good in free agency or the draft.
He better get it right this offseason!