Long-time Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson landed in a fairly ideal situation with the Indianapolis Colts and quarterback Andrew Luck this offseason. Luck, just 25, has already developed into an elite signal-caller and looks ready to take that all-important next step at the helm of a strong cast of Colts offensive weaponry led by the recently-added Johnson and running back Frank Gore and which also consists of Dwayne Allen, Coby Fleener and T.Y. Hillton.
But from the sound of things, Indianapolis may not have been Johnson's preferred free agent destination.
Johnson, a former member of the Miami Hurricanes football program, recently returned to Florida for the UM Hall of Fame fishing tournament in Islamorada. While there, Johnson spoke with Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald and revealed that potentially joining his home-town Dolphins as a free agent this offseason was intriguing to him, saying it "was something I thought about."
"I always had a dream of playing at home," said Johnson. "I was a huge Dolphins fan. But they never called."
The Dolphins, of course, chose to sign veteran speedster Greg Jennings to round out their young receiving corps, which now consists of first-rounder DeVante Parker, the sure-handed Jarvis Landry and trade acquisition Kenny Stills.
As Jackson notes, the Dolphins decision to pursue a player like Jennings over hometown boy Johnson may have had as much to do with financials as anything - Johnson's cap hit for 2015 is $7.5 million, whereas Jennings will cost the Dolphins just $2.5 million.
Considering Miami has about $10 million in cap space at the moment, per over the Cap.com, it makes sense that they would be particularly cognizant of their proximity to the cap.
Still, Johnson sounds like a guy who knows he landed in a good spot with the Colts and holds no ill will toward the Dolphins for not pursuing him.
"I understand the business side," he said. "I have a good situation" in Indianapolis, where he landed a three-year, $21 million deal.
