(SportsRadio 610) - In his second year of eligibility, former Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson again made it to the final vote and again, fell short.
The 2023 Hall of Fame class was announced Thursday evening at the NFL Honors in Glendale, Arizona ahead of Super Bowl 56.
Johnson, making it to the final ballot for the second straight year, was being considered for induction along with former Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne and former St. Louis Rams receiver Torry Holt.
All three of them will have to wait for another year.
The modern-era inductees voted in this year are cornerback Darrelle Revis, cornerback Ronde Barber, left tackle Joe Thomas, linebacker Zach Thomas and outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware.
There are currently 29 receivers in the Pro Football HOF.
The former Texan has more receptions than 24 of them. Johnson gained more yards than 23 of them, scored more touchdowns than 10 of them and played in more games than 18 of those already enshrined.
The rest of the 2023 HOF class features coach Don Coryell, linebacker Chuck Howley, defensive lineman Joe Klecko and cornerback Ken Riley.
The 2023 Hall of Fame inductions will take place Aug. 5 in Canton, Ohio at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
As for Johnson, when he spoke in early January after eligible candidates were trimmed from a list of 28 to 15, he was humbled but admitted that the process doesn’t consume him.
“It’s a tremendous honor. I don’t really think about it much to be honest, until it comes around,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, this year we can get in.”
For a guy that doesn’t think about the Hall of Fame too much, he did make some strong points when asked what case he’d make if given an opportunity to speak with the HOF committee.
“If you look at my career, I never played with a Hall of Fame quarterback, I never played with any other Hall of Fame player,” Johnson said. “If I did play with a Hall of Fame player, it’s probably J.J. Watt and he played on the defensive side of the ball. I don’t know of many guys that have put up the numbers that I’ve put up without playing with another Hall of Fame guy.”
When a guy finishes inside the top-15 all-time in receiving yards for a career, he belongs in the Hall of Fame, regardless of who he played with.
Johnson’s day will come, he’ll just have to wait a little longer.
Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.
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