Andre Johnson played through a badly injured wrist
Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson (80) makes a reception during the second quarter against the Denver Broncos at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Houston Texans star wide receiver Andre Johnson posted the fifth 100-catch season of his career after hauling in 109 passes for 1,407 yards and five touchdowns, but the craziest thing is that Johnson could have put up even bigger numbers despite uneven quarterback play around him. Johnson averaged about 88 receiving yards per game last year, but he had yardage totals of “just” 18, 63, and 49 in the team’s final three games. He’s also not participating in the Pro Bowl, and we now know why he isn’t in the Pro Bowl and why his numbers slipped a bit at the end of the year.
According to FOX 26 Houston’s Mark Berman, Johnson’s uncle Andre Melton stated that the wide receiver played through an injured wrist during the Texans last four games of the regular season and didn’t tell anyone. Even though he won’t need surgery, Johnson’s wrist injury was so bad that his uncle stated Johnson was “essentially” playing on just one hand.
That’s remarkable, and it’s yet another testament to just how tough Johnson is. Calvin Johnson is one of the toughest wide receivers in the league, but so is Andre Johnson. His commitment to the Texans organization is even more astounding, because he played through the injury during a meaningless stretch of games, managed to somehow hide it, and he had the motivation to keep playing through it despite receiving poor passes. Johnson had an amazing 13 receptions for 154 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which was the first game he played through on the injured wrist.