Winston no puff of smoke

[popanot]

He'll be around awhile. Nice move.

WINSTON SIGNS EXTENSION WITH TEXANS
Posted by Mike Florio on September 6, 2008, 8:14 a.m.
A league source tells us that the Houston Texans have signed right tackle Eric Winston to a five-year, $30 million extension.

The deal includes $10 million in guaranteed money.

Winston was the second player selected in the third round of the 2006 draft. His rookie deal runs through the 2008 season, and he was due to earn $445,000 this year.

He appeared in twelve games and started seven as a rookie. Last year, he started every game for the Texans.

We’re told that the deal makes him one of the three highest-paid right tackles in the league.

[NBT]

Very nice move. Winston will just keep getting better.

[painekiller]

They got this one right. Winston was underpaid, and now he is secure.

[Keith]

Great job by our local media in (1) sniffing out that the Texans were even negotiating with Winston and (2) being so close to the team that they break the news. No, wait. Neither of those things happened.

Seriously, the Texans ought to be in negotiations with as many as three other key players as well - Owen Daniels, DeMeco Ryans, and Dunta Robinson.

I'm glad Winston is locked up. The price isn't cheap, but I doubt this will be a move the team will regret. More contract info from the Chronicle:

His deal includes a $6 million signing bonus and $10 million in guarantees.

fyi - Winston, like many former 'Canes, has Drew Rosenhaus for an agent. Rosenhaus gets flack from fans for some of his antics, but he seems to be a pretty solid agent when the TV cameras aren't looking.

[dadmg]

Glad to get him locked up. With how quickly o-line contracts have been escalating, the quicker, the better.

[Nconroe]

I like Winston as well, he's been good on run blocking and pass defense, fairly quick for his size. Glad we got him locked up now.

[Keith]

Got some more info on Winston's deal, and the media info was lacking specifics, but it wasn't inaccurate. Cap page has been updated.

Winston received a $6 million signing bonus and has a $2 million roster bonus in 2009. I don't have the exact date of the roster bonus, but I would guess that it would probably be around 3/15/09. Also, Winston's $2 million base salary in 2009 is guaranteed, bringing the total "guarantees" to the $10 million as reported.

The rest of this $30 million deal comes from base pay, so Winston will have to presumably keep his starting position to keep earning the pay.

2010 & 2011 - $4.5 million base per year
2012 & 2013 - $5.5 million base per year

His yearly bonus prorate is $1 million as the team will start the prorate in 2008... not that we currently have much reason to think Eric won't play out this contract, but in case you wanted to figure potential dead money if he were cut in another couple years.