Andre Johnson was the last of seven inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. He was the first Texan.
The former receiver waited three years to earn a bust in Canton.
“I am truly honored to be your first National Football League Hall of Famer,” Johnson said to the Texans. “This accomplishment is not just about me. It is for us.
“Many, many people have had a role in my career, and today, we are going into the Hall of Fame.”
Johnson spent 12 of his 14 seasons in Houston after the Texans drafted him third overall. He caught 1,012 passes for 13,597 yards and 64 touchdowns with the Texans and played one season with the Colts and one with the Panthers to finish with 1,062 catches, 14,185 yards and 70 touchdowns.
It got him to Canton ahead of Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne, who also were finalists for the Class of 2024.
Texans fans chanted “An-dre!” throughout his speech as the current Texans team sat among the crowd.
“Not in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be in Canton, looking at a bronze statue of me that will be placed in a gallery with some of the greatest people to ever play the game,” Johnson said. “I didn’t even think about it.
“To the other 377 men who wear this gold jacket, I’m humbled, honored and happy as hell to join you in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Julius Peppers didn’t need long to earn induction of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He didn’t need long to finish his induction speech either.
Peppers, a first-ballot Hall of Famer, took just long enough to thank more than two dozen people, many of them in the Panthers organization where he spent 10 seasons. The second overall pick in 2002 played 17 seasons and made 159.5 sacks.
He used a story he heard from Tyler Perry throughout his speech, referring to the root people, the branch people and the leaf people in our lives.
“Some people come into our lives for a season,” Peppers said. “They get easily influenced and probably don’t last through the tough times. When the wind blows, they fall away. Those are the leaf people. Some people come into our lives for support, and they’re a little stronger than the leaves, but if you put too much pressure and weight on them, eventually they break. Those are branch people. Then, sometimes you meet people that are solid, that you can depend on no matter what, to help you build a stable foundation that allows you to grow. They provide strength, and they hold you through the storms. Those are the root people.”
Peppers become the 90th player to earn first-ballot induction after becoming one of only 29 players in history to be on two All-Decade teams. He was the best of the best edge rushers in the 2000s and 2010s.
Peppers spent his first eight seasons with Carolina before playing for the Bears (2010-13) and then the Packers (2014-16). He finished his career with a two-season reunion with the Panthers.
He made 11 sacks in 2017 at the age of 37, one of only five players in NFL history with a double-digit sack season at 37 or older.
Five years after his retirement, Peppers is enshrined with the best of the best, and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan was one of those who came to Canton to celebrate Peppers’ induction.
Peppers said he wouldn’t be where he is without all the “root people” in his life, and encouraged everyone to be a “root person” for others.
“Everyone can’t be a Pro Football Hall of Famer,” Peppers said. “But everyone can be a Hall of Famer in life. . . . Whatever it is you do, do it with respect, passion, resilience, dedication and gratitude. That alone will make you a Hall of Fame person. And you, too, can have the legacy that lives on forever.”
The Panthers have added a pair of defensive backs on Saturday.
Carolina announced the club signed veteran corner Anthony Brown and safety Clayton Isbell.
Brown, 30, spent time with three teams in 2023 after recovering from a torn Achilles suffered late in the 2022 season. While he was also with the Steelers and Jets, he appeared in two games for the 49ers.
A Cowboys sixth-round pick in 2016, Brown appeared in 96 games with 69 starts for Dallas through the 2022 season. He has 59 career passes defensed with nine interceptions.
Isbell entered the league this year as an undrafted free agent with Carolina. The team had waived him in late July.
As corresponding movers, the Panthers waived defensive back Kiondre Thomas and waived/injured tight end Curtis Hodges.
Panthers pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney has looked good in training camp. Sometimes too good.
Carolina head coach Dave Canales said after Thursday’s practice that Clowney was getting such good pressure that the offense wasn’t able to do what it wanted to do.
“I mean, who’s not excited to see Jadeveon Clowney,” Canales said, via Panthers.com. “Disruptive was the word that I used early on when we got him, and he was ruining things for us a lot today.”
The Panthers’ defense appears to be ahead of their offense, but Canales seemed OK with that.
“I love seeing the ones versus ones in this type of a setting to see really what we have. And I was pleased with the defensive performance especially early on,” Canales said.
Clowney is heading into his 11th NFL season with his sixth different team, and the Panthers are optimistic that they’ve added a veteran who can make a difference. Primarily when he’s rushing a quarterback who isn’t a teammate.
Quarterbacks looking for work should be reaching out to the Panthers.
The team is in the market for some help at the position because backup Andy Dalton is dealing with a quad injury. Head coach Dave Canales said on Thursday night that the team will be looking for help “for the time being.”
Undrafted rookie Jack Plummer is the only other quarterback on the roster behind Bryce Young and he got extra work during Thursday night’s Fan Fest practice.
“It was good for Jack Plummer to get out there to get those reps, started off that first possession, missed a couple of open guys just high,” Canales said, via the team’s website. “Part of the jitters. It’s so good to just see him work through that, settle himself and start making plays.”
The Panthers are set to open their preseason schedule next Thursday and Plummer will be in line for plenty of work in that game regardless of any moves the Panthers make in the coming days.
