Texans FA Tracker
 

Per multiple sources on twitter...

Texans re-sign Lechler and Novak.



Also, Texans interested in Ravens RT Rick Wagner but he may be too expensive.

So does that mean they'll be cutting Fig Newton?

Can't answer the Newton question but sounds like they have been priced out of Wagner.

Wagner (supposedly) off the market

I'm sure everyone has seen/heard it but Romo will be released tomorrow.

Demps is gone. Signing with Chicago.

https://twitter.com/mortreport/statu...15288799903744

Cowboys now expected to trade Romo to either DEN or HOU.

John Simon to Indy

I saw 17M with 5.5M guaranteed. Those numbers seem reasonable for Simon but guess Rac & Vrabel didn't think he was worth it.
I would have restructured or cut Cushing to retain Simon but maybe they don't want to keep either of them.

I love Simon, but you can't pay him that money to be your 4th edge rusher, and I don't think you can pay him that money with the plan that JJ/Mercilous/Clowney are getting hurt again.

Stinks that he went to Indy though.

It's good, really. Now we can exploit Simon's inability to cover backs out of the backfield just like Indy would do to us.

I never really thought Simon was anything more than just a guy.

Bouye we'll miss; Simon, I doubt it.

34 OLBs cannot cover backs out of the backfield. Nor should they be asked to for longer than 1-2 seconds. That has nothing to with Simon.

Also, the Colts did little in the passing game against us in general last year, and even less with their RBs. What little they did get to their RBs had nothing to do with Simon. So I have no idea where this comment comes from.

I think we will miss all three guys lost from Defense so far, all three had positive contributions.

Wonder when we will start spending our 30 mil free cap space?

And, I am not one hoping for Romo. Though QB for sure our biggest need.

Further, pretty surprized they had a reasonable end to Osweiler story. Seemed like a nice guy so wish him well.

I hope for Romo even expecting him to play less than 6 games next year. I think this defense is so good that if we get above average playoff QB play, we could win a super bowl. You have to take a shot at the only way you get that QB play.

But don't let Romo stop you from drafting a QB on the first 2 days.

I will miss Bouye, Simon, and Demps, but this was the #1 defense because of several other guys. Those guys leaving opens a door for players like Robert Nelson, Brennan Scarlett, and Eddie Pleasant. Not impressed? How impressed were you when the Texans first added Bouye, Simon, and Pleasant to the roster? I'll wait as you scroll back your memory banks to when they were signed.

And, oh yeah, they're going to get to add J.J. Watt back to a front-7 that features J.D. Clowney just now hitting his peak. Shed no tears for the Texans defense. They're fine.

If you want to wring your hands over something (besides QB, duh), then think about what's happening (or not happening) at right tackle. And TE, too. For the second straight year the team has not signed Martellus Bennett in FA, instead losing him to the Patriots and Packers, a couple teams that know a thing or two about offense.

As for TE, it has been a huge need ever since Owen Daniels left. I am optimistic about Stephen Alexander's development in the passing game, but the Texans have used him so little they seem less than enthused.

If we sign Romo that completely prevents a Bennett signing. Bennett has spoken out loudly about his unhappiness with the Romo/Witten crowd in Dallas and how he was frozen out.

If we don't sign Romo, Bennett is not a guy I'd like to have on a team with a bad QB. Put him with a great QB and he'll be eccentric and fun. Put him with a bad QB and he'll be a constant headache.

But if I was in the mood to cherry pick Patriots front office moves, I love the Cooks trade. NE has been so bad drafting WRs, but they turned #32 and the limited impact it would have in 2017 into a really good young deep threat and YAC guy without it costing them much money in 2017. That's a smart move when your QB is 40 and you're trying to win as much as possible while he lasts.

Just a quick scan of the play-by-play log for the first game against the Colts last year include these entries.

1 10 HTX 26 Andrew Luck pass complete short right to Robert Turbin for 9 yards (tackle by Benardrick McKinney)

2 7 CLT 43 Andrew Luck pass complete short left to Frank Gore for 13 yards (tackle by Kevin Johnson).

2 10 HTX 34 Andrew Luck pass complete short left to Robert Turbin for -1 yards (tackle by Kevin Johnson)

2 14 CLT 17 Andrew Luck pass complete short left to Frank Gore for 2 yards (tackle by Kevin Johnson)

3 12 CLT 19 Andrew Luck pass complete short left to Robert Turbin for 2 yards (tackle by A.J. Bouye)

3 4 CLT 30 Andrew Luck pass complete short right to Robert Turbin for 12 yards (tackle by John Simon)

This on a night when Gore rushed 22 times for 106 yards.

My point being that the Colts do throw to their backs on a regular basis as part of their game plan. Neither Simon nor McKinney were all that effective in pass coverage.

Assuming he's willing to come to Houston and play ball what's the price tag on Romo gonna be ? 2-year deal at 15M a year front-end loaded where all of the guaranteed money hits the cap in 2017 ? That may all be moot as Romo might just up and retire now.
Even if we sign him I expect them to draft a QB this year and in the first round it they like their Board. In other words no more procrastination on drafting a young QB.
I'm starting to really like this MaHomes kid out of Texas Tech but he may be too wild and wooly for O'Brien but he's got a tremendous arm.

I'm not sure what play by play you perused. The night where Gore ran for 106 he had 1 catch for 2 yards.

For the season Gore had 277 yards receiving and Turbin had 179. This makes them 23 and 42 in the NFL among RBs. And that on a team with the 5th most passing yards. They have 3 WRs and 3 TEs who had more receiving yards. The RBs are not a big part of the gameplan for the Colts.

And like I said, Simon is a 34 OLB and is not expected to cover much. McKinney is a MLB who was on the field a lot on 3rd down. It was expected to be part of his game. McKinney and Cushing are guys who need to cover RBs or they have limited value. Simon and Clowney/Mercilous are not.

After I posted, I looked up the second Colts game and RBs Gore and Turpin were targeted on 9 pass attempts of which Indy completed 6 for 66 yards and a touchdown.

You're welcome to pretend this is insignificant but, for years, the Texans do not defend well against screens and flat passes to the backs. Indy, in particular, knows this and makes it a regular part of their gameplan. Sure, they'd rather pass it to Hilton instead and last year they rediscovered their tight ends as receivers (Allen and Doyle) but dinks and dunks to the backs is also a significant part of their plan.

As for the OLB responsibilities, we have pressure guys (Mercilus, Clowney) and we have cover guys who fill the zone (Cushing, McKinney, Simon). Cushing used to be fantastic before his knees blew out. McKinney is slow but he's learning angles and is improving. Simon was "just a guy" out there for the most part. I certainly wouldn't have paid what the Colts paid for him.

So to recap your points, in the past the Colts used the RBs more in the passing game, none of that had anything to do with John Simon, and now we can take advantage of the Colts by passing to our RBs because they signed Simon. Great analysis Bob.

Texans re-signed TE Ryan Griffin to a 3-year deal. So that solves the problem there. :rolleyes:

My Marty B lust is more about my personal cry for help to upgrade the talent at the position more than anything. The point about his relationship with Romo is a good one. I probably could have just said any capable TE's name to make my point.

Don't know how long it's been since Romo played a full season.

I totally agree with you on the Mahomes kid, I really like him.

I love him. I coached against him his senior year in HS. I was a low level defensive assistant and we were sure we had a great game plan for how to handle him down near the goal line.

We lost in OT when he caught a goal line TD. So much for that. The TD was more like a rebound than a fade route.

I think he was fantastic for the Patriots last year and he is the rare receiving threat at TE who still blocks. I would have loved him on the Texans in the Kubiak years when we used the TE.

So, to recap your points, John Simon stands around with his thumb up his ass whenever a running back makes a catch on a screen or out in the flat because it's not his job to run down the ballcarrier and, besides, teams never throw the ball to the backs against the Texans anyway. Great analysis Barrett.

Nice straw man Bob. The only difference is you actually tried to make the idiotic points I recapped. Now if your original analysis was half as smart as your sarcasm, then you probably would have had something to add to the discussion of Texans FAs.

Bottom line. John Simon is a waste at LB who can't cover backs and I will enjoy like crazy watching Miller or Hunt zoom past him for first downs against the Colts. May he have the same success in Indy that Andre Johnson had.

I'll just add that the Texans' OLBs are in fact dropped into coverage more often than never. I've never really understood this very well, why that would be part of a package, but it does happen. Perhaps the coaching changes will result in a change of strategy here, or maybe the team will get serious about the safety position for once in its existence.

On an unrelated note I knew that BO sucked at football, what I didn't know is that he's a whiny little pussy.

I also like how Cleveland - Cleveland! - had to lead Rick Smith by the hand out of the darkness and into the light. I wonder what sort of master plan that genius had in his back pocket had the Browns not done his thinking for him.

Obviously a rumor at this point, but if true, wouldn't it have been better to just keep Bouye? They'd have to pay Butler roughly the same amount and would still have a pick.

I think Butler is at least a 2nd round pick better than Bouye.

I can't imagine this gets done without one of our guys being dealt. Preferrably Jackson or Joseph, but since Bellichek likes guys on rookie contracts, maybe Kevin Johnson and the 2nd for Butler and a low round pick.

I'd rather have Bouye and the pick. The D was good enough with Bouye (let alone also losing Johnson in your scenario in acquiring Butler), and that 2nd RD pick could be another good player (QB, OL).

But like you said, it's not going to happen. I think Butler ends up with the Saints.

I totally agree that on our team I'd rather have Bouye and the 2nd. We have good CB depth and I just don't think we ask our CBs to do enough to justify that deal.

But I do think Butler is significantly better than Bouye.

Man I agree with that !
Our second round pick in next months Draft is extremely important to us. So right now we've got our first, second, third, and two fourth round picks remaining and we have pressing needs for those few precious pics especially @ QB, offensive tackle, and TE.

FYI - Romo and the Texans met last night.

I don't trust whatever QB falls to us at #25 as being starter-ready. I don't even see any of them besides Deshaun Watson as first-round material. Which all means we probably have to overpay to get Romo with backup options being Cutler or Kaepernick.

I don't think Jerry Jones wants to risk Romo leading the cross-state rival Texans to a title and would rather he go to Denver but the Broncos are resolute not to give Dallas anything and wait for Romo to be cut.

Therefore, the only way I see Houston getting Romo is if they offer Dallas a draft pick and take Romo's large contract with the agreement that Romo is willing to renegotiate it to something more cap-friendly.

I think a 5th-rounder is enough to save face with Dallas and get it done so long as Dallas can be convinced that's the best offer they are going to see. Denver can be more patient. They have two potential starters already in the fold while the best we have right now is Savage.

If the Texans can't secure Romo, they are almost forced to draft a QB in the first round and I think that will be a huge flop for 2017.

Why would Romo go anywhere other than the place he most wants to go? He can 100% control his destiny in this one, and if he wants Denver, he just doesn't agree to renegotiate with Houston. And the same is true vice versa.

The guy is gearing up for his last go round, and it will happen on his terms in a location of his choosing. If he doesn't choose Houston we can't change that by pointlessly giving up a 5th round pick.

Either way (trade or FA) Romo will pick where he goes.

Romo is under contract with the Dallas Cowboys. Until he gets cut, this is true. That's why Houston would obtain Romo's rights with a trade, just as Cleveland obtained Osweiler's rights with a trade. Osweiler didn't decide to be a Brown. In fact, he wasn't told until after it happened. To obtain Romo's rights prior to his being cut, Houston would have to give Dallas something of value, hence the draft pick. If that were to happen, Romo would be a Texan.

Would Dallas prefer to get something of value for trading Romo or nothing of value by cutting him? I'm sure the Texans would rather wait out the Cowboys but if they do it and either Romo is never cut or Romo is cut but doesn't sign with Houston, there's a black hole the size of NRG Stadium left at QB and very few viable options available to fix it.

If the Texans want Romo and Romo wants to be a Texan a trade would be the smartest way to accomplish that obviously so long as Romo is willing to renegotiate the contract. If he becomes a free agent who knows who might offer him who knows what and the marketplace could get very confused. Again, IF the Texans are sold on Romo the best way to control the situation is to assuage Jerry's ego with a pick.

I'm not sold on any of these quarterbacks. Hell, that Kelly kid might have the most talent. Of course you'd have to hope he wouldn't try to beat up everyone on your roster. But on the other hand, it would be very entertaining to have a quarterback who's more volatile than the head coach.

Watson couldn't throw the ball through wrapping paper, Mahomes' mechanics are terrifying, everyone else basically sucks as far as I've been able to tell. You know it's grim when you're starting to daydream about Jay Cutler. Don't anyone mention to Rick that he used to play for the Broncos or he'd immediately try to sign him.