Here’s the entry on the Texans’ restricted free agents if you missed it. Now let’s move on to the unrestricted guys. Once again, this is all assuming that the league does not work out some sort of last-second miracle deal before the start of the new NFL year on March 5.
Unrestricted Free Agents
RB Chris Brown
Brown wasn’t effective – at all – as a short-yardage back. He was miscast from the start. He’s a big guy, but for a big guy he doesn’t run with much power, and worst of all, he takes forever to get up to his top speed. How that translates into a short-yardage back I have no idea. The worst part of this is that I really did think he would be a decent compliment to Steve Slaton. Sigh. On the plus side – he did show some heretofore unknown prowess as a quarterback.
Prediction - he goes to Oakland to compete at QB with JaMarcus Russell.
LB Khary Campbell
Campbell is a strong special-teamer, but he barely made it out of October before he landed on the Injured Reserve list with a knee injury.
Prediction - The Texans don’t offer him a contract, but he’s on the list to get a call if there’s an injury or change of plans/shuffling of the linebacker depth chart during the season.
S Nick Ferguson
Ferguson came to town in 2008 and made a difference. In 2009, it didn’t go so well. At 35, Ferguson is a great veteran presence to have in the secondary, but the good that his experience brings is far, far offset by what seemed like a pretty significant drop-off in ability in 2009.
Prediction - With Troy Nolan healthy and a new safety sure to be drafted, Ferguson is going to have a hard time making the 53-man roster if they do sign him. That said, there are two guys at the position who I don’t think will be back in John Busing and Brian Russell. At the end of the day, though – I think the Texans opt for a younger option.
QB Rex Grossman
Rex came to Houston and wasted no time in ganking backup Dan Orlovsky’s job. It was more a case of Orlovsky being really bad than it was of Grossman being good. He saw some brief action when Matt Schaub got hurt against Jacksonville, but other than that he looked like he was adept at wearing a backward baseball cap and sniffing around a clipboard.
Prediction - He’s absolutely gone. The Texans already signed John David Booty knowing that they are going to need a different #3 QB to come in and take the #2 QB job away from Orlovsky.
LS Bryan Pittman
Pittman’s services weren’t needed until the Texans thought his presence would help out Kris Brown’s atrocious kicking. That and previous long snapper Joel Dreessen was pushed to the top of the TE depth chart when Owen Daniels went down. Pittman came in and did a fine job, but Dreessen was doing a fine job before he returned to the team.
Prediction – I see no reason that the Texans should offer him a contract. As long as Daniels is back and Dreessen hasn’t lost his ability to long snap, Dreessen should be the long-snapper. When Pittman came back to the team, it certainly didn’t improve Kris Brown’s kicking, so it’s not like he’s got that going for him either. Plus, of course – he uses up an entire roster spot. No contract for you!
G Chester Pitts
Pitts was arguably the best offensive lineman on the team before he got hurt. That said, the running game was bad before and after his injury… though he went out so early that it’s hard to say if it would have gotten on track had he not been hurt. I’m guessing it wouldn’t have made a difference at all.
Prediction – Tough one. All signs point to him signing elsewhere. He’ll be 31 in June, but tons of O-linemen do just fine past 30. He’s going to want one last big contract, and I just don’t see Rick Smith giving it to him coming off such a significant injury. That, plus he might be a prime candidate to join Alex Gibbs in Seattle or Kyle Shanahan and his da-da in Washington. If everything was the same minus the injury, I would be screaming for them to bring him back, but as much as I WANT him back, I just don’t think it’s going to happen. Pitts, sadly, moves on and doesn’t finish his career as a Texan.
G Tutan Reyes
I don’t have a lot to say about Reyes. He joined the team in October and didn’t see the field much if at all.
Prediction - I think the Texans will be loading up on offensive linemen in the draft and with undrafted free agents, and there will simply be younger guys out there. He’s another guy who might get a call during the regular season after an injury or other issue.
CB Dunta Robinson
So much has already been said about Dunta, and frankly I’m kind of sick of talking about it. That doesn’t mean I don’t want him back – it’s just… this has been going on so long now. Dunta was average at his best in 2009 and awful at his worst. The one thing we all thought we could count on – his ability to provide solid run support – seemed to not be quite as strong, but was still there in flashes. Is that acceptable when you’re making 10 million for one season? No. No it’s not.
Prediction - Another tough one. He’s most definitely not worth the money he would make if the Texans franchise tag him again – but with no salary cap likely in 2010, I don’t think it would be complete insanity to overpay him one more year. That way, you don’t have to go CB in the first or second round – though the team still should draft another corner in the front half of the draft even if Robinson does stay. Yes, D-Rob wasn’t great last year, but once the defense as a whole got their act together, they played pretty well as a unit. I don’t know. I’m torn, but right now my gut feeling is that the Texans let Dunta walk. Further prediction – he’s an Atlanta Falcon in 2010.
Okay, I’m up over 1000 words already so I’ll hit the rest of the UFAs in another entry. Still to come:
S Brian Russell
T Ephraim Salaam
QB Matt Schaub (technically still a FA until they officially pick up his option).
LB Chaun Thompson
P Matt Turk
WR Kevin Walter
DT Jeff Zgonina
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Feb 17, 2010 at 09:11:28
I understand that Dunta Robinson has rightly rubbed people the wrong way, but money should be no reason to not bring him back. It’s a one-year tag, in an uncapped year. We can’t afford to let any talent slip away.
Feb 17, 2010 at 09:30:32
On the topic of Dunta…
…rumors have surfaced that San Diego will trade Antonio Cromartie for either a running back or a draft pick to which they can obtain a running back.
Is he worth trading a second rounder for? Maybe we could try to get away with a third and Arian Foster?
If we get him, we can transition tag Dunta (slightly less overpayment), and have Cromartie and Robinson in the backfield while we draft another CB (at this point, I’d hope for Jerome Murphy in the 4th) and charge David Gibbs with figuring out the mess of young CBs we have and who can be counter on moving forward while the vets take the field.
Feb 17, 2010 at 10:45:58
I wouldn’t touch Antonio Cromartie with a ten-foot pole. Just like one of the NFL guys on my Twitter feed said – they’re looking to trade a young, tall corner with blazing speed – buyer beware.
He plays so buttery soft anyway.
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:24:42
NO to cromartie. he WAS good but not now.
of that whole list im interested in only pitts and walters. its time to move on from dunta. kind of like the young girl your screwing that you know isnt for you, but she is just hot enough to keep around. even a slightly less good looking girl could easily take that spot because it is simply “NEW”
cromartie is the butter for nick fergusons burnt toast
Feb 17, 2010 at 11:52:03
On Dunta:
I read that Dunta has heard nothing from the Texans on a contract and he has to be franchised by Feb. 25th if they’re going to do that. My read on that is the Texans are looking hard at the draft right now to see if they can potentially fill that spot. If they can’t, they have to franchise him or give him a long-term deal better than what they offered last year. It certainly doesn’t stand to reason that DR deserves a better deal than he was offered last year (or that he deserved that one), but he’ll argue that he’s healthy now so how could he get a lower offer than when he wasn’t healthy. The potential for “insult”/”disrespect” in this case is rather high, so I don’t think Rick Smith is even going to try for a long-term deal. Based on the potential of the draft to provide a first-round selection on a CB worth a damn versus the flexibility to cover another position of need, I say DR gets the franchise tag again, which gives him $20 million over two years. Since that sums to basically the total of the long-term contract he was offered over several years, DR wins. And that pisses me off…
Feb 17, 2010 at 12:00:04
Have you ever thought that Dreesen might not be able to give his 110% as a tight end if he is having to long snap, as well. I think we definitely need Bryan Pittman as the long snapper. It’s his specialty and there should be someone that focuses on long snapping so that incredible players like Dreesen can focus on what they do best. I think it’s great to know that we have someone like Joel Dreesen as a backup in case of injury.
If Dreesen gets hurt, who is going to longsnap? Pittman deserves the roster spot and I hope he gets it.
On a side note, I think we all forget sometimes that these men are real people and that they need these jobs to take care of their families. I know this is a girly thing to say, but sometimes we need to remember to be a little bit more sympathetic. I know I wouldn’t want a blog written about whether I should lose my job or not but I guess that’s the nature of this business.
Feb 17, 2010 at 13:38:01
Girly Fan…that was a joke right? Please tell me everything you just wrote was a joke…
Feb 17, 2010 at 21:38:21
I hope dunta is gone
I wouldn’t even give him 20 over 4 years and I bet he would laugh at that anyway.
K-dub will end up overpaid in the afc north. BET
I’d love zgonnina back for one last hurrah to the playoffs.
He might be the best overall DT
Feb 18, 2010 at 10:59:45
You guys are forgetting the transition tag. It calculates based on the Top 10 contracts rather than Top 5. In 2009, the transition tag vs. franchise tag for cornerbacks was almost two million less (8.3/9.9), and, in 2010: An Uncapped Odyssey, we can franchise AND transition him.
I know everyone hates him because he’s the most selfish person in franchise history, but we need him AND we need a new cornerback. Jacques Reeves is a nickel corner, and, after our last 4th-rounder CB, I’d prefer not to assume that Glover Quin is going to be a dominant #2 CB. Dunta Robinson is a serviceable #1 in 2010 and would be a dominant #2 in 2011.
The best thing to do is transition tag him and eat the almost-9-mil it would cost, and draft a cornerback who is good enough to unseat him. Once Dunta sees that he is not as good as the rookie, then maybe he accepts a paycut for a long-term deal. If not, well, by then he’s 29 and he can be put to pasture by the organization and draft a #2 CB next year (or go with Quin)
As for K-Dubz, Eric Decker and Blair White will both be avialable on Saturday and can do everything Walter did for significantly less money. I like Walter, but he is expendable.
Feb 19, 2010 at 19:38:11
With Mawae exploring free agency, would he be someone we would target at center in free agency? I know he use to be good and is getting up there in age, but don’t know how well he did last year
Feb 20, 2010 at 05:43:39
@AI
It’s been made clear that Bob doesn’t want old free agents
Mar 2, 2010 at 08:49:48
So what is this crap I’m hearing about them possibly letting Kevin Walter Go ? Is Bob McNair gutting the Team to save money ? So far they are expected to just tender offers to Demeco and Owen, and not sign them to long term contracts. If this crap continues I say we stage a big Protest at Reliant.
Some of these Guys aren’t “WORLD BEATERS” (Walter and Dunta) but You can’t plan on replacing all these starters and still say you’re going to be a playoff contender….
I don’t know… I’m getting worried.
Mar 2, 2010 at 10:07:01
@B-Rad
Kubiak believes that Jacoby deserves to start at WR2, which makes K-Dubz expendable. Also, it is uncertain whether or not another team will pay him big money, so he might re-sign after “testing the waters”.
As for RFA tenders on DeMeco and Owen, that’s just smart business. With a looming lockout in 2011, it does not make sense to pay players when they may not be working next year. If you look around free agency (walterfootball.com has a GREAT free agent tracker), you’ll notice most RFA’s will get tenders this year. John Clayton even did a piece on how, if the new CBA gets signed and we don’t have a lockout, the 2011 free agent market will be the biggest in NFL history thanks to all of these RFA tenders.
Finally, and I will end every post with this until it is or can’t be done,
WE NEED TO SIGN LEIGH BODDEN!!!!!!!!!
Mar 2, 2010 at 15:31:04
@ Kyle
But in the case of Demeco especially, Some Big spender could make him a crazy offer that the Texans Could not match.
I heard a “For Instance” today, of the “Poison Pill”,
The example was Minnesota offering Demeco a contract that would guaranty, Say $35 Mil, then they could have a bonus clause that if he Played 9 Games in Texas this year, he gets a $10 mil bonus, or $20 mil bonus. It’s perfectly concievable that they could lose him.
and for the record I think Kevin Walter is a Much Harder Worker ,,, Wait, I KNOW Walter is a much harder worker than Jacoby, and he is MUCH more reliable.