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Texans sign seven players to future contracts
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The playoffs have just begun and the official start of free agency is still seven weeks away but that doesn't mean teams can't start filling rosters for 2009.
The Texans announced yesterday the signing of seven players to future contracts.
The players are TE Courtney Anderson, QB Alex Brink, CB A.J. Davis, WR Glenn Martinez, WR Mark Simmons, G Adam Stenavich and T Cliff Washburn.
The first thing you might ask is 'what the heck is a future contract?'
It's really quite simple. But first, you need to know this:
- The NFL business year runs from (on or about ) March 1 to February 28 each year and NFL contracts are set up to coincide with those dates.
- Players with contracts that expire after the '08 season, like Dunta Robinson, Owen Daniels, etc., are still under contract until February 28 of '09 - the end of the business year. The NFL free agent period starts the day after those contracts expire.
- Practice squad players do not hold standard NFL player contracts. They receive a weekly salary during the season which is dictated by the NFLPA agreement, but after Week 17 they become free agents.
Teams can sign free agents (i.e., players currently not under contract, including former practice squad players) to "future contracts" after the end of the regular season. A future contract means it's for the next league year - in this case for the 2009 season which begins on or about March 1.
Brink, Simmons, and Stenavich spent most of the '08 season on the Texans practice squad.
Brink was a 7th round pick by the Texans last year but was released during the final roster cut downs on August 31. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 8.
Simmons was an undrafted free agent signed by the Texans in May '08. He was released during the final cuts and re-signed to the practice squad on August 31.
Stenavich was signed to the practice squad on September 1.
Anderson is a 5 year vet who has played with the Raiders, Falcons, and Lions. He has been a free agent since being cut by Buffalo during final roster cut downs in August '08. With Mark Bruener's retirement looming, the Texans will be looking at a number of blocking tight ends.
Martinez was waived by Denver in November '08 after seeing action in 2 games with the Broncos this season. He has 3 years in the league with Detroit and Denver. He had a tryout with the Titans in early September but couldn't make the roster. He returns kicks and punts so this could be the first of several off-season messages from coach to Jacoby.
Washburn is a 29 year old offensive tackle with no 'official' NFL experience. He spent three weeks with the Texans during preseason '08.
Most of these players are backups and camp bodies but there's always a chance that one or more could make that career breakthrough and crack the roster at some point.
Dunta watch:
Brooke Bentley ran a piece about Dunta Robinson's impending free agency yesterday on Texans TV . While it's encouraging that Dunta is saying he wants to retire here and all that, he said something to the effect that "it's going to be a long, hard battle to get what I think I deserve," which tells me the Texans and the DR camp aren't necessarily close in preliminary negotiations.
Dunta said he'd be unhappy with a franchise tag which would guarantee him around $10 million in '09.
The Panthers recently gave Chris Gamble $23 million guaranteed.
If Dunta is holding out for $23 million guaranteed, he's going to have a long wait because he's not getting that kind of money. The Texans gave Andre Johnson $15 million guaranteed two years ago and Eric Winston $10 million guaranteed last year.
The most I could see Dunta getting is in the mid to high teens, and if that's not enough the Texans will likely tag him and see if he can improve his performance in '09 from his self-admitted 85% capacity this year after returning from his injury.
To his credit, Dunta worked extremely hard to get back on the field after a terrible injury that many thought could be a career ender. He definitely adds a spark to the secondary, but this is a business decision and millions are at stake, so don't look for the Texans to just throw $20 million at him when they could retain his services in '09 for half that - even though he wouldn't like it.
Complicating the matter is the fact that the Texans have five players in their defensive backfield who are unrestricted free agents on March 1 if not re-signed. In addition to Robinson, that list includes Demarcus Faggins, C.C. Brown, Eugene Wilson, and Nick Ferguson.
Cast your vote:
- Steve Slaton is one of five finalists for 2008 NFL Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Year. The Pepsi ROY is a fan vote and even though Matt Ryan is likely to run away with it, I think Steve deserves as much recognition he can get for a fine season. You can cast your vote here.
If you haven't been able to read the defensive coordinator series, here are the links:
- "Texans defensive coordinator search: Part I,"
- "...Part II."
- "...Part III."
- "...Part IV,"
- "...Part V."
- "Could Larry Coyer be a piece in the Texans defensive coordinator puzzle?"
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