Texans Not Planning To Cut Andre Johnson Until They’re Certain A Trade Can’t Be Made

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans will not release veteran WR Andre Johnson until they’re certain that there is no trade to be made with another team.

There surprisingly hasn’t been a lot of development towards a resolution between the two parties in recent days.

McClain reported earlier in the week that the Texans have given Johnson permission to seek a trade out of Houston and told him that he’ll be released if they can’t find a trade partner.

Of course, Johnson and his agent are hoping that he’ll be released so that he can renegotiate a new contract with a team of his choosing, instead of being sent to a team chosen by the Texans.

For what it’s worth, a recent report said that the Colts and Johnson have mutual interest.

The problem for Houston is that it would be surprising to see a team part with draft picks for a player who is likely to be released, especially when you consider Johnson’s age and salary for the upcoming season.

Johnson, 33, still has two years remaining on his seven-year, $62.7 million contract, which includes $48 million guaranteed. He’ll make base salaries of $10.5 million and $11 million over the final two years of the agreement.

Johnson’s remaining cap figures are $16,144,583 and $14.675 million, but the Texans would free up $8.825 million next year and another $12 million in 2016 if they were to release him, according to OverTheCap.com’s calculator.

In 2014, Johnson has caught 85 passes for 936 yards receiving and three  touchdowns over the course of 15 games. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 40 receiver out of 110 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Johnson as the news is available.