Daniels' decision to stay away is understandable

Daniels is staying away from the last week of OTAs 

I wasn't that surprised when reports broke earlier today that Texans tight end Owen Daniels decided to stay away from the last session of voluntary OTAs.

I was more surprised that he participated in the first three weeks with no contract.

Daniels assumed substantial risk by being there in the first place.  With no contract, all he had to do was tear an ACL and poof, there goes any hope of a double digit signing bonus - at least this year.

So consider the last three weeks Daniels' good faith effort to show his commitment to the team.  But now Daniels wants to see a similar commitment from the team.

According to scuttlebutt on talk radio this afternoon, the Texans offer to Daniels was in line with what the Broncos gave Daniel Graham back in 2007. 

Although the Texans would never confirm such information, that seems in line with Daniels' agent's comments about the numbers not close to what "contemporary tight ends are getting."

The guys on SportsRadio610 were saying that Graham had received $10 million in guarantees which would seem to be on the low end for a player of Daniels' caliber, but if you can believe what's on the net, Graham's guaranteed money included a $10 million signing bonus AND a $5 million first year roster bonus, making his total guaranteed money $15 million over five years.

So now, my stream of consciousness leads me back to the question "what's an Owen Daniels worth?"

It would seem he's worth more than a guy who never finished with more than 38 catches or 409 receiving yards in any season, but the answer is that he's worth whatever the market will bear - in the context of him being a (very) restricted free agent.

There's no doubt the Kellen Winslow deal (more than $20 million guaranteed per reports) is affecting these negotiations but unfortunately for Daniels the CBA gives him little leverage in this situation.

The Texans have a $2.792 million tender (qualifying offer) on the table for Daniels.  If Daniels doesn't sign the tender by Monday, the Texans can withdraw the offer but only if they immediately offer him a one year contract worth 110% of his 2008 base salary ($489,500).

If the Texans pulled the qualifying offer and didn't immediately make another offer at 110% of last year's base, then Daniels would become an unrestricted free agent  (that detail was missing from the Chronicle article referenced above ... see Earl Cochran).

I don't see any of that happening but that's the rules they are operating under.  I think out of respect for Daniels, the Texans will leave his $2.792 million tender on the table past June 15 if he doesn't sign it before.

Another rule they are operating under is that if Daniels doesn't sign his tender by Week 10 of the 2009 season, then he is prohibited from playing at all this season.  That probably won't happen either.

What makes it worse for Daniels is that he doesn't agree to a long term deal and a new CBA isn't in place by March 1, 2010, he could remain restricted for two more years.

Maybe the reason the Texans are playing a bit of hardball in Daniels' situation (and maybe the reason DeMeco still doesn't have his extension) is that the owners are already planning for no CBA settlement before next year (no cap - no floor - more restricted free agency in 2010) and possibly a lockout in 2011.

Why else would the Texans not be making more progress locking up their core players to contract extensions and free agent deals? 

It's not like Bob McNair decided to turn cheap all of a sudden, right?