Texans coach Bill O’Brien said last month that he has had “good communications” with wide receiver Andre Johnson, who has stayed away from the Texans so far this offseason because of questions about the team’s direction.
Those communications apparently haven’t included anything about next week’s mandatory minicamp. O’Brien said, via the Houston Chronicle, Friday that he’s “not sure” whether or not Johnson will attend the mandatory sessions and that uncertainty likely extends beyond minicamp because if Johnson’s willing to incur fines for skipping those practices he may be willing to incur even more once training camp starts.
The Texans didn’t add any receivers in free agency or the draft, leaving them with an unappealing set of options other than Johnson at wideout for the 2014 season. Trading Johnson will be difficult because of his contract and cutting him without getting any compensation in return seems like a non-starter of an idea at this point in the process.
For those reasons, it’s likely that the Texans will try to find a way to get Johnson back on the practice field as soon as possible to help their new starting quarterback have a better chance at success in the 2014 season.