Andre Johnson's bad 2011 was even worse than we thought.

Johnson missed nine games because of two different hamstring injuries.

"I hyperextended my (left) knee. It swoll up. Got the swelling to calm down. I came back during offseason workouts, it swoll up again. We felt like the best thing to do was get it scoped, get it fixed"

"I'm two weeks out from having a knee scope. I wasn't in any pain before I had it. It just kept holding fluid on it. I'm not in any pain now. My knee feels better, the swelling has pretty much gone down. Just keep doing rehab and (I'll) be ready for training camp.

"This is my tenth season. I've been through OTAs several times. I don't really feel like I'm missing anything right now."

In a broader sense, though, I think its fair to wonder if 2011 served as some sort of harbinger for Johnson.

He still ranks as one of the very best receivers in the league. But hell be 31 in July and going into his 10th season.

Will he face other situations this fall that make us consider if hes starting to break down?

Or will he rebound to show three different injuries in his ninth season amounted to a blip?

A lot of elite receivers play very effectively well into their 30s. Im expecting the rebound. But there is simply no predicting health or the timetable for when a guy reliant on his legs begins to slow.

More here:
On Andre Johnson's knee, longevity