When the Texans released wide receiver Andre Johnson this offseason after Johnson expressed displeasure with Houston’s plans to put him into a less prominent role, it didn’t take long for the Colts to snap him up.
With Reggie Wayne gone, the expectation was that Johnson would play a significant role in the Indianapolis offense, but that hasn’t been the case through the first three weeks. Johnson has seven catches for 51 yards, he’s dropped a couple of passes and three of Andrew Luck’s interceptions have come on throws in his direction.
Struggles haven’t been uncommon in Indy this season -- Johnson’s longest catch was wiped out by a penalty on the offensive line -- but Johnson hasn’t done much to suggest the Texans were off in their evaluation of where he is at this point in his career. He believes that things will get better in the weeks to come, though, and that he’s content with his role even if they don’t.
“In coming to this team, I knew that we had a lot of guys here that can make plays,” Johnson said, via ESPN.com. “You just have to wait [for] your time. Your time will come. I’ve had my fair share of being the No. 1 guy, catching eight or nine balls a game. My biggest reason for coming here was to come in and help as much as I can to win games. What’s required of me in the first few games, it hasn’t been what’s been most of my career. I’m not upset. I’m here to win.”
Johnson, who didn’t have any catches against Tennessee last week, said that it takes time and “a lot of work” to get comfortable in a new offense. If he winds up paying dividends down the stretch, early bumps in the road will be forgotten but a full season like this won’t do much to stem criticism of the Colts’ personnel decisions.