Veteran wide receiver Andre Johnson has reportedly asked the Houston Texans to trade him before the start of the 2015 NFL season, the Houston Chronicles reported.

Johnson, who has spent all 12 seasons of his NFL career in Houston, was reportedly informed that his role will change next season, which was the reason why he decided to ask his team for a change of scenery.

"It is business," Johnson said of the team's decision to give him a new role for next season. "I understand that side of it. I'm not angry about it. I knew at some point in time this day would come."

The 33-year-old wide receiver, who was the third overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, said that he would love to finish his career in Houston, but he needs to move on because he wants to continue playing an important role in the final years of his illustrious career.

"If we were living in a perfect world, you know I'd want to finish my career here, but, unfortunately, that's not what's going to happen," Johnson said. "You just have to move forward."

Johnson, a seven-time Pro Bowl player, had 85 catches for 936 yards with three touchdowns last season. The 12-year veteran believes he did well last season, and he sees no reason why his role will have to be reduced next season.

"I think if anybody else was in my situation they would have done the same thing I did," Johnson added. "I don't know how you tell a guy who catches 85 balls that he'll only probably catch 40. I feel like the role they were trying to put me in I'd be held back from maximizing my talents. I feel like that was the best thing for both sides."

The Texans will have to find a taker for Johnson's expensive contract. The Miami native has two years left in his contract that will give him a base salary of $10.5 million and a cap hit of $16.1 million in 2015. He has a base salary of $11 million and total cap hit of $14.68 million in 2016.

Sources said, though, that if the Texans failed to work out a trade in the coming weeks, Houston will put Johnson on waivers for him to become an unrestricted free agent.

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