D-Rob is D-lirious... [2/24 Report: Robinson Will Not Be Tagged]
 

...if he thinks he's going to get the F-Tag again. He was clearly surpassed on the depth chart by Quin and Reeves this year. Hopefully Bennett will rebound, McCain will continue to develop, we'll eventually get SOMETHING out Molden and we'll draft another CB or two.

Nope, sorry D-Rob... Nothing but a pay-cut or new team for you.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/6797865.html

I could easily see him getting tagged and traded. If there's no cap his number is inconsequential in a one-year deal. So, you tag him, put him on the table, if you get what you feel he's worth, you take it, if not, run with him for another year.

Win-win.

I could easily see dRob in our rear window. No great loss.

If not, we are paying too much money for an underperformer. That's money we could have spent on a Free Agent that may actually make the team better by producing commensurate with his compensation.

I wouldn't be all that hasty... D-Rob was definitely not playing like a franchise corner, but he was above average. And I wouldn't rank either Quin or Reeves as being better.

I'd love for the league to fix the transition tag. Make it top 15 or 20 salaries, as opposed to top 10 and let an arbitrator pull any poison pill provisions.

Have a look at the FA CBs you'd look to replace him with:

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2010/fa/db.html

Richard Marshall is a RFA, and I don't see any one else that I consider an upgrade. The last thing I want to do this off-season is open up any additional holes. The draft is pretty shy on start from day 1 CBs as well, and most will go before we pick.

My plan for the Texans' is to keep reasonable talent at all positions. Get the FAs that provide the best value, and draft the BPA's. Hopefully we can get away from 1st rounders have to start in year 1, and get to an all draft picks will have to win the job. That's how to get a long-term successful team.

I just think the money could be better spent elsewhere. Perhaps we go after RB La'Ron Mclain and OG Logan Mankins instead?

There's really no significance there if the league doesn't have a cap. So long as McNair is willing to make the gamble of possibly overpaying a player for one year for the chance at gaining a nice draft pick, then it's a good deal for us no matter what. And, he can certainly afford such a gamble.

If we go uncapped this year I'm OK with keeping him. I'd probably put his true value at about 5 million a year. If we pay 12 million for one year, it's essentially an insurance policy to cover key injuries in the secondary. If McNair wants to buy that insurance, it won't bother me a bit.

Neither will be UFA's, so you'll have to offer ridiculous money and lose draft picks.

Actually RFA's if drafted in mid to low rounds are a very good bargain. ie. you might get a starter and only give up a sixth round draft pick.

Huh? :confused:

I think he means:

"Actually RFA's if originally drafted in mid to low rounds are a very good bargain. ie. you might get a starter and only give up a sixth round draft pick. "

Exactly. IE. Kevin Walter for a 7th rounder.

That still doesn't make sense.

okay, the discussion might go as follows

- let's say you really need a starting free safety.

- you might draft , you might trade, you might get RFA, or UFA.

If you draft, likely take 2-3 years to develop as a good starter.

So, trade, RFA, or UFA if you need a starter.

If you get an UFA who is really good, he will want top money, many teams will be bidding on him, say $8mm or atleast $5MM plus some bonus for signing and several years.

If you get a RFA from another team who was say drafted in sixth round, you could make him an offer for say $3mm, a big raise , as he is likely only make 750k. If his current team doesn't match you have a good starter with expereince for 3MM per year and a sixth round draft pick.

or something like that.

That's not how RFA works. The draft pick you would have to give for the player is based on the tender his respective team puts on him, not where he was drafted.

So.....if we put a first round tag on dRob and he then resigns with us, we have to pay him 10mil again? That would suck bigtime. We sure as heck won't get two first round picks for him.

The f-tag pricetag at corner is actually estimated to be a few hundred thousand LESS in 2010, but for Dunta, that won't matter. He would get 120 percent of his 2009 salary if tagged again this year, or roughly $11.948 million.

I wonder what the Colts are going to put on Antoine Bethea? He was a 6th round pick from Howard.

Currently I'm happy with a pick in the top 70. Let somebody else pay Dunta, while I roll the dice on drafting a CB like Syd'Quan Thompson, Brandon Ghee, Trevard Lindley, Donovon Warren, Javier Arenas, or Kyle Wilson.

Can we put the "Transition Tag" on Dunta after Franchising him last season? What type of compensation would that garner in terms of picks?

quoting Ask.com comish - it does depend on the tender offer by current club. So, it could be one of several possibilities, including a pretty good deal and draft pick initially drafted at. See below.

A RFA is "any Veteran player with three or more accrued seasons, but less than five accrued seasons (or less than four accrued seasons in any capped year)... At the expiration of his last Player Contract during such period... [the player] shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any club, and any club shall be completely free to negotiate and sign a Player Contract with any such player, subject to... certain restrictions." The restrictions are the fun part.

The player's original team maintains the First Refusal Right if the team tenders a contract offer of one year at $1.01 M.

The player's original team maintains the Right of First Refusal and Draft Selection at the Player’s Original Draft Round (from the team with which he signs) if the team tenders an offer of one year at the same amount(s) listed above OR at least 110% of the player’s prior year’s salary -- whichever is greater.

The player's original team maintains the Right of First Refusal and Second Round Draft Selection (from the team with which he signs) if the team tenders an offer of one year at $$1.545 million OR at least 110% of the player’s prior year’s salary -- whichever is greater.

The player's original team maintains the Right of First Refusal and First Round Draft Selection (from the team with which he signs) if the team tenders an offer of one year at $2.198 million OR at least 110% of the player’s prior year’s salary -- whichever is greater.

The player's original team maintains the Right of First Refusal and First Round Draft Selection and Third Round Draft Selection (both from the team with which he signs) if the team tenders an offer of one year at $2.792 million OR at least 110% of the player's prior year’s salary -- whichever is greater.

In the event a Prior Club withdraws its Qualifying Offer, the RFA immediately becomes an UFA.

Right, which is what I said.

http://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/9248900529

CAUTION: McClain is trying to use insight with his reporting here... last year recall that the Texans were negotiating with Robinson before they tagged him. While it seems more likely they might just let him go to free agency, I still don't rule out the possibility of a tag. I think if you tag him, you bought yourself some trade bait.

Plus the Texans can elect to rescind the tag, though if I'm Robinson, I don't pull that crap on sitting out camp this year since (a) he'd be getting a nice 20% increase, and (b) if the trade offers dried up, the Texans could pull the tag long after the teams have spent their offseason budgets.

fyi - deadline to tag is 2/25, 3pm CT.

When was the last time a team traded a player under the franchise tag? I am having a hard time finding one, I think it's happened but I cannot remember it.

Signing Dunta with the thought of trading him is foolish IMO. The GM's in the league will laugh if we tie that money in such an overrated player and make us sit on him. There is not such a shortage of CB with leg issues. He is undersized and was torn up last season in one on one situations, only our fans think he is worth anything. He only has 13 ints in 6 years, not an elite CB, IMO.

Now Dunta does have the fact that no one else worth a shit is a FA, Bodden excepted.

But this is a deep draft of solid DBs....

Look no further than last year. The Pats tagged Matt Cassel and subsequently traded him (and Mike Vrabel) to the Chiefs for an early second. Another memorable one was when the Chiefs tagged Jared Allen then traded him to the Vikings for a 1st and a 3rd. Less memorable? How about the Pack tagging DT Corey Williams then trading him to the Browns for a 2nd. The Pats also did it with Tebucky Jones awhile back - after tagging him, they sent him off for a 3rd, 7th, and a 4th the following year.

You just don't let Dunta walk for nuthin'. Expect the tag... I will. Or use McClain's insight.

I stand corrected, I knew there were cases and I was forgetting them. I wanted us to get into the Allen sweepstakes, can you imagine Williams and Allen together?

As for the Cassel trade, I though that was more of a new GM, former draft wiz of the Pats, wanting to get his guy back to go with his new HC.

I like this option. Tag him, compare trade offers, and hopefully get something for nothing. If no GM blinks and offers a 2nd round or 3rd round pick for the "best CB in FA" and Dunta resorts to being a jerk, then rescind the tag. Hell hath no fury like a GM scorned. ;)

Best option from a fan's standpoint, but the Texans may be getting a bit of a reputation as an organisation that doesn't take care of its players.

Per Lance Zierlein's blog...
http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootba...otion_and.html

...then again, these are agents he's talking with, so take that for what it's worth.

Texans will let CB Robinson leave
 

It is unofficially, official........Barring any craziness that happens in FA, Dunta has played his last game as a Texan.

From the chronic - http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6882589.html :

The Texans have informed cornerback Dunta Robinson they will not be using the franchise tag on him for a second consecutive year, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

There will be no more negotiations for a new contract, which means Robinson will become an unrestricted free agent on March 5 and will be able to sign with any team.

Robinson, a first-round draft choice in 2004 who played six seasons with the Texans, earned $9.957 million last year when he was designated as the franchise player. Before he was franchised, Robinson turned down an offer that would have guaranteed him $23 million.

Robinson started every game last season and covered the opponent's best receiver. Because free agency will increase from four to six years without a salary cap, Robinson should be one of the most attractive free agents on the market.

Without Robinson, cornerback becomes a priority position for the Texans. Expect them to use a high draft choice on a replacement.

Glover Quin starts at one spot. Jacques Reeves and Brice McCain played better than the other reserve corners last season. Fred Bennett was a disappointment, and Antwaun Molden was injured much of the season.

I think management is just trying to play it a little tighter/a little smarter these days. They have been burnt in the past with stupid trades and FA signings and poor extensions. I think they need to:

1. Make DeMeco (and his agent) happy. Do the long term deal or pay the man a premium salary for at least this year till some of this upcoming labor dispute becomes clearer.

2. Ditto for OD. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of bargaining power with the club due to injury. I'd like to see them keep him on with a reasonable deal. IMO, he's got a year to prove he can overcome the injury. This would work for him if he wants out in 2011 - he can show the league he's still got it.

3. Kevin Walter - I believe he's a true URFA and as far as I can tell, not a "complainer". I want him back but they may feel they are deep enough to go in a different direction. His situation might be stickier than the other two. It's an uncapped year so I have no idea how they are going to play this one...

The Texans are not the Patriots......yet. They can't afford to let their best players leave just yet. IMO, they're not tightwads - nothing I've seen suggests that. I like the fact that they DO NOT throw stupid money at big name free agents. I think they've proved they can been very good to some..... Mario, Schaub, Winston, A Smith, etc....

--------------

McClain on the radio right now saying both Dunta and Pitts (!) won't be back next year....

I think the Texans made a "reasonable" offer before OD got hurt.

There is a difference between "taking care" of your best players contractually, and just giving out silly money for past performance. A team should be spending money on players who will most likely earn their salaries.

DeMeco Ryans falls into this category. I was worried Schaub may not have played up to his contract, but at this point, I'd say that he did. Whatever Andre makes, Andre earns.

Agree on all points.
When it comes to OD being a ProBowl level talent, lets not forget that he was a PB alternate who got in when somebody withdrew, caught a couple passes, and scored a nice little TD. Maybe that experience left him with the belief that he was an elite level TE, but I tend to think he's only marginally elite if that ? Therefor IMO he was offered money consistant with his level of talent but turned it down and sought more with his gamble failing. End of story.
DeMeco & AJ are clearly elite talents, with AJ even eclipsing that if possible.
They should be both be under contract for the long-term.
Re Schaub, he's our QB and a very competant and successful QB and that automatically makes him the Texans MVP so far as I'm concerned. Obviously then he's worth the money.

Whelp, as long as you know that and I know that and the Texan brass knows that, then we're all happy. ;) The point being - that there is a rumor that the Texans don't take care of their people doesn't seem justified to most of this at this point....

But OD is in a pickle.... he's got to prove himself all over again which means if he's still got it, then the Texans will benefit whether he leaves when he can or stays.... Griping about it doesn't do anybody any good, eh? He should just do his job and keep his mouth shut..... I think some of these guys just want to go visit the golden goose that is free agency and OD was denied that privilege this year...

I dont remember what the offer to Demeco was reported as, if there was one, but I do know that the offers to OD and DRob were very generous and fair. Well at least as reported from a money standpoint, there are always stipulations and such built in which players might not see.

OD was quoted, in the Chron I think, last year saying something along the lines that contract was outdated. Now to me that means he wanted top dollar for 5 years predicated on the fact that by the end of his contract he would no longer be the top paid TE in the league; which to me is rediculous.

DRob is not a probowl CB, and his play over the last 5 years has lead me to believe that he will never be. He may get his payday this year, but at least its some other team that will have to pick up the tab on a 28 year old corner who has yet to prove anything besides being good in run support and comming up with some hard hits.

Reeves/Quin/McCain/Bennet/Molden as it shakes out now.

I, unlike most, like Reeves and believe that he can play as a starting press CB. He just needs to learn to play the ball better.

Quin earned his starting spot, and Kubiak even went on record about him playing outstanding all year.

Lance is very good at what he does, but I think from time to time he's not above trying to put pressure on the Texans front office in order to take care of some of his sources, namely agents of Texan players.

By the way, is it likely the league will give us draft compensation for losing Dunta? If so, it makes this decision even better.

I would think a 3rd or 4th round comp pick. As long as we do not go out and sign every top level FA.

I know Dunta does not read this, but if he did, I want to say, thank you for the heart and style of play you have shown us fans through the years. Good luck in your future.

Well, good for you PK. As for me, I think dRbob is a jerk and is not the hotshot he thinks he is. He made $10M last year, didn't show up till game one, and wasn't anywhere near what he thought he was. I think he is in for a rude awakening on the FA market. But what do I know, I'm just a disgruntled Texan fan that thought he ought to have given as good as he got.

I think Robinson is going to hit the jackpot here in a couple weeks and realize a really big payday. The stars have aligned for him this year with this uncapped offseason and an abnorally low number of players including few front-line corners in FA because of the 6-year minimum league longevity for UFAs. Afterall there's 31 teams out there and just like in the upcoming Draft, it only takes one team for a certain player to get rated far above the leagues average perception.
I'm somewhere between you and PK on my thoughts about Robinson - he was one of my team favorites 'till he started to act goofey last year, but he went thru a lot with that very, very severe knee injury and I'm still of the opinion that Rick Smith screwed up big-time with last years negotiations.

Oh I feel like you do about last season, but I also appreciate the player he was for for most of his career, and that is what I would thank him for. And the line I do not say but I am thinking it is, don't let the door hit you in the a$$.