Andre Johnson
Encyclopedia
Andre Lamont Johnson is an American football
wide receiver
currently playing for the Houston Texans
of the National Football League
. Through the 2010–11 NFL season, Johnson currently ranks first all-time in NFL history in receiving yards per game (80.7 yds/game) for a career. He played collegiate football at the University of Miami
.
All-American.
, where quarterback Ken Dorsey
connected with Johnson for 2 touchdowns and 199 yards. Johnson finished his University of Miami career catching 92 passes for 1,831 yards (19.9 avg.) and 20 touchdowns. His 1,831 receiving yards is ranked fifth on the University of Miami's all-time career list.
While at Miami, Johnson also ran for UM's track and field team. In 2002, he won the Big East 60 meter dash (6.83 seconds) at the Big East Indoor Championship and followed that up by winning the 100 meter dash (10.59 seconds) at the Big East Outdoor Championships.
chose Johnson with the 3rd overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft
.
. Johnson severed ties with NFL agents Michael Huegue and Jeff Moorad
before hiring sports attorney Don West, Jr. to negotiate Johnson's rookie contract with the Texans. Johnson was signed to a six-year $39 million dollar contract and Johnson was able to start training camp on time due to a timely contract negotiation. Johnson's rookie contract included over $13.501 million in guaranteed compensation.
In Johnson's rookie season, he started and played in all 16 games, recording 66 receptions for 976 yards and 4 touchdowns. His breakout year came in 2004 when he combined with Texans QB David Carr
to record 79 catches for 1,142 yards and six touchdowns and be selected to his first Pro Bowl
.
In the 2005 season, however, Johnson only played 13 games due to injury and had a lackluster 63 receptions with 688 yards and 2 touchdowns. Back from injury in 2006, Johnson led the NFL in receptions with 103 for 1,147 yards and 5 TDs, on his way to the Pro Bowl, once again.
On March 3, 2007, the Texans signed Johnson to a six year extension; the deal is worth $60 million and includes $15 million in guarantees.
In 2007, Johnson missed 7 games due to injury. He returned mid-season to finish with 851 receiving yards and a career-high 8 receiving touchdowns. He led the league in receiving yards per game in 2007 with 95.6.
On December 14, 2008, Johnson recorded his first 200 yard game with 207 yards and 1 touchdown in the Texans' 13–12 win over the Titans. Johnson finished the 2008 season recording career highs in receptions and receiving yards totaling 115 receptions for 1575 yards (both of which lead the league) and TD receptions with 8. This same season, Johnson became the first player in NFL history to record 7 games with at least 10 receptions
After finishing the 2009 season with 101 catches for 1569 yards and 9 touchdowns(a new career high), Johnson joined Jerry Rice
as the only two receivers since the merger to lead the league in receiving yards in consecutive seasons.
On August 4, 2010, Johnson became the highest paid receiver in NFL History when he signed a two year contract extension, keeping him under contract until the 2016 season.
On November 28, 2010, Johnson fought Tennessee Titans
cornerback Cortland Finnegan
during their week 12 game in Houston. Their helmets were pulled off during the fight, Finnegan threw off Johnson's helmet, tripped and fell to the ground and was punched on the top of his head while on his hands and knees. Both players were ejected, and avoided suspensions, but were fined $25,000 for their actions. He was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
currently playing for the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. Through the 2010–11 NFL season, Johnson currently ranks first all-time in NFL history in receiving yards per game (80.7 yds/game) for a career. He played collegiate football at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
.
High school career
Johnson attended Miami Senior High School, where he graduated in 1999 and was rated as one of the top prospects in the country. As a senior Johnson caught 32 passes for 931 yards and was named a ParadeParade (magazine)
Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
All-American.
College career
Johnson enrolled at University of Miami, where he was a standout wide receiver on the Hurricanes' successful football team. He was MVP of the 2002 Rose Bowl2002 Rose Bowl
The 2002 Rose Bowl, played on January 3, 2002, was a college football bowl game. It was the 88th Rose Bowl game and was the BCS National Championship Game of the 2001 college football season...
, where quarterback Ken Dorsey
Ken Dorsey
Kenneth Simon "Ken" Dorsey is a former football quarterback. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Miami. A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist at Miami, Dorsey played for the Cleveland Browns from 2006–2008...
connected with Johnson for 2 touchdowns and 199 yards. Johnson finished his University of Miami career catching 92 passes for 1,831 yards (19.9 avg.) and 20 touchdowns. His 1,831 receiving yards is ranked fifth on the University of Miami's all-time career list.
While at Miami, Johnson also ran for UM's track and field team. In 2002, he won the Big East 60 meter dash (6.83 seconds) at the Big East Indoor Championship and followed that up by winning the 100 meter dash (10.59 seconds) at the Big East Outdoor Championships.
2003 NFL Draft
The Houston TexansHouston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
chose Johnson with the 3rd overall pick of the 2003 NFL Draft
2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...
.
Houston Texans
Johnson was the number three overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft2003 NFL Draft
The 2003 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. The draft was held April 26–27, 2003 at the Theatre at...
. Johnson severed ties with NFL agents Michael Huegue and Jeff Moorad
Jeff Moorad
Jeff Moorad is a former sports agent and is currently lead owner of the San Diego Padres and part-owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team.He is an Assyrian American...
before hiring sports attorney Don West, Jr. to negotiate Johnson's rookie contract with the Texans. Johnson was signed to a six-year $39 million dollar contract and Johnson was able to start training camp on time due to a timely contract negotiation. Johnson's rookie contract included over $13.501 million in guaranteed compensation.
In Johnson's rookie season, he started and played in all 16 games, recording 66 receptions for 976 yards and 4 touchdowns. His breakout year came in 2004 when he combined with Texans QB David Carr
David Carr
David Duke Carr is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
to record 79 catches for 1,142 yards and six touchdowns and be selected to his first Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
.
In the 2005 season, however, Johnson only played 13 games due to injury and had a lackluster 63 receptions with 688 yards and 2 touchdowns. Back from injury in 2006, Johnson led the NFL in receptions with 103 for 1,147 yards and 5 TDs, on his way to the Pro Bowl, once again.
On March 3, 2007, the Texans signed Johnson to a six year extension; the deal is worth $60 million and includes $15 million in guarantees.
In 2007, Johnson missed 7 games due to injury. He returned mid-season to finish with 851 receiving yards and a career-high 8 receiving touchdowns. He led the league in receiving yards per game in 2007 with 95.6.
On December 14, 2008, Johnson recorded his first 200 yard game with 207 yards and 1 touchdown in the Texans' 13–12 win over the Titans. Johnson finished the 2008 season recording career highs in receptions and receiving yards totaling 115 receptions for 1575 yards (both of which lead the league) and TD receptions with 8. This same season, Johnson became the first player in NFL history to record 7 games with at least 10 receptions
After finishing the 2009 season with 101 catches for 1569 yards and 9 touchdowns(a new career high), Johnson joined Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
as the only two receivers since the merger to lead the league in receiving yards in consecutive seasons.
On August 4, 2010, Johnson became the highest paid receiver in NFL History when he signed a two year contract extension, keeping him under contract until the 2016 season.
On November 28, 2010, Johnson fought Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
cornerback Cortland Finnegan
Cortland Finnegan
Cortland Temujin Finnegan is an American football defensive back for the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Samford University.-High school career:...
during their week 12 game in Houston. Their helmets were pulled off during the fight, Finnegan threw off Johnson's helmet, tripped and fell to the ground and was punched on the top of his head while on his hands and knees. Both players were ejected, and avoided suspensions, but were fined $25,000 for their actions. He was invited to the 2011 Pro Bowl
2011 Pro Bowl
The 2011 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2010 season. It took place at 7:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii...
.
| Receiving | Rushing | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| 2003 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
16 | 16 | 66 | 976 | 14.8 | 46 | 4 | 5 | −10 | −2.0 | 11 | 0 |
| 2004 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
16 | 16 | 79 | 1,142 | 14.5 | 54 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 14 | 0 |
| 2005 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
13 | 13 | 63 | 688 | 10.9 | 53 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 1.7 | 5 | 0 |
| 2006 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
16 | 16 | 103 | 1,147 | 11.1 | 53 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 18 | 0 |
| 2007 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
9 | 9 | 60 | 851 | 14.2 | 77 | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
16 | 16 | 115 | 1,575 | 13.7 | 65 | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
16 | 16 | 101 | 1,569 | 15.5 | 72 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2010 | Hou Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
13 | 13 | 86 | 1,216 | 14.1 | 60 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Career | Total | 115 | 115 | 673 | 9,164 | 13.6 | 77 | 50 | 22 | 46 | 2.1 | 18 | 0 |