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Mario Williams (is he worth the money/)
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Excellent post. I could see Demeco being restructured if he's willing. If not, hopefully they could find a trade rather than just cutting him. I really would like for them to find a way to re-sign Mario, though I'll understand if it doesn't happen. According to Nick Scurfield, the Texans thought he was on his way to potentially leading the league in sacks last year before he was hurt.But on top of that is the flexibility that Mario's presence gives the Texans. If Barwin or Reed gets injured, they still have two great pass rushers at OLB. If JJ Watt or Antonio Smith goes down they can move Mario to DE and not lose anything amongst the starters. And Mario's presence means you also have the option of moving Antonio Smith to DT if ever needed for some reason.Having Mario provides a lot of flexibility. Without him the Texans probably need to get another OLB in free agency or in the first 3 rounds of the draft, unless anyone is confident with Jesse Nading or Bryan Braman in there if there is an injury... and Bulman or Jamison if a DE goes down. I think those guys are above average as the level of depth they are on the depth chart, but none of them do I think is going to be a guy you want starting.Crossing my fingers Mario and Arian are both willing to give a bit of a hometown discount. I don't know if either will, but both seem at least possibilities of doing something like that. Foster doesn't seem to sweat the money angle as much as many, and Mario has already made some statements that he doesn't care about being the highest paid, etc. He already had #1 overall pick money, and while I won't fault him for earning as much as he can in his career, it also isn't like he really needs this 2nd contract for financial security, the way Foster does.'dhockster said:I have been looking at the Texans cap situation and it looks like they have $5 to $6 million of cap spaceas their contracts stand right now. That is without the following key Free Agents signed:Mario WilliamsArian FosterMike BrisielChris MyersJoel DressenNeil RackersSo how do the Texans Free up cap space to sign all those players? Either cut some players or restructure contracts.Possible Cuts:Jacoby JonesKevin WalterMatt LeinartDemeco RyansPossible Restructuring:Andre JohnsonMatt SchaubOwen DanielsI predict the Texans will do the following:-Give a contract extension to Matt Schaub and restructure his contract so that his cap number is much smaller this year-Restructure Owen Daniels deal to give him a bonus this year and reduce his cap number.-Possibly do the same with Andre Johnson, although they have redone him once and he still has the potential to have a lot of dead money at the end of his deal. If they restructure again, he will have even more potential dead cap money.-Cut Jones, Leinart for sure, possibly Ryans. I don't think they cut Walter because that would leave them too thin at WR.-Resign all of the Free Agents mentioned above, with the possible exception of Rackers if there is another free agent kicker they like better. Mario Williams contract would be structured so that the biggest cap hits would come in 2014 and beyond when the salary cap number will increase dramatically due to the TV deal.-When they resign Arian Foster he will either be franchised or they will sign him to a long term deal. I don't think they will risk losing him via a restricted FA tender.-Draft a WR in the first or second round depending on players available.-I don't see them signing any significant new free agents because they can't afford it.A lot of the restructuring will put a big cap hit in 2014 when the new TV deal goes in place and the Cap increases. This basically gives the Texans a three year window to get something done with the Core group of players they have in place which include Schaub, Foster, Williams, Johnson, Watts, Reed, Joseph, Manning. They probably re-sign Cushing next year, but that may mean they cut Antonio Smith before his contract ends.This is what I think they will do, not necessarily what I think they should do. I still vascilate on whether they should sign Mario to a big contract, especially with his injury history. However, based on the loyalty factor that both McNair and Kubiak operate by, I think they will resign Mario.Thoughts?
Good point about Schaub's foot. That is the only thing that may prevent them from giving him an extension. If he were healthy coming into this year, he definitely would have gotten one.I hope if they go the Restricted FA route with Arian, you are right that no one offers him big money. However, with all the carryover cap room plus this years cap room that some teams have, I could see someone making him an offer. Either someone with a low first round pick and lots of cap room, or a team with multiple first round picks and lots of cap room.I think Jacoby is gone, have already speculated that cutting him should save about $2.5M this year and they need every dime they can get. I think we will see Walter restructure instead of outright cut as from what I have been able to find, he has been paid all his guaranteed money and his salary is a steady $3.5M for the next 3 years. I also expect Joseph & Daniels to restructure to spread their cap charges out to future years. I don't think they have the room to again restructure Andre, DeMeco, or Antonio and cutting/trading any of them would be too big of a dead money issue.I think they do everything in their power to keep Mario so it will ultimately come down to if he's being truthful about not caring about being the highest paid defensive player ever. Many of my reasons are the same as mentioned above, tons of flexibility on the defense and you just don't let premier pass rushers go if you can help it. I think they roll the dice on a RFA tender with Foster with some "promises" about getting a deal done next year. He's an outstanding RB, but I put the chances of someone paying a huge contract PLUS giving up their 1st as pretty low. You'd think people would be gunshy of paying RB's big money after seeing what happened to CJ1K, ADP & DeAngelo this year.I think you see Houston make a run at Mario immediately after the combine. If he doesn't bite at our offer, then you'll see Myers & Foster resigned. If we can retain Mario, you'll see the RFA on Foster and then Myers resigned. I think Brisel is the odd man out unless he takes a smaller than expected contract.I honestly don't know what to do about Schaub. An extension would help the cap, but they have got to be scared about his foot.
Excellent analysis.Summary: Cut overpaid players, specifically 2 out of 3 from the Walters/Jones/Daniels trio. Also cut Leinart. Restructure some deals to free up cap space. Don't hamstring the organization in the future by signing Mario to a big deal. Sign Myers, Brisiel, and Foster. Possibly go after a free agent WR like Dwayne Bowe, or draft a WR. If you cut Daniels, be sure to sign Dressen.http://sports-kings.com/downanddistance/?p=769Interesting piece...lots of free agent and salary cap talk.
Loved seeing the contract numbers. You can create room by:-Restructuring Daniels, Manning, Walter & Joseph.-Outright Cutting Daniels is unlikely, we just gave him that contract last year. And he didn't greatly underperform like Jacoby.-Cut Jacoby, however his cap hit is a lot higher than what I have seen reported elsewhere. Makes it more likely if true.-You can cut Lienart but it's not huge savings. From what I've been able to find, at least 1.25 of that $3M is guaranteed.-I believe Winston is in the last year of his contract. Work out an extension and you can lower his cap number hopefully.http://sports-kings.com/downanddistance/?p=769Interesting piece...lots of free agent and salary cap talk.
He has $6 million guaranteed, but I don't think it was in the form of a signing bonus which would amortized over the 4 years of the deal. I really don't know which dollars are guaranteed and when they hit the cap. The interwebs has conflicting information (sportrac and rotoworld).'Greg Russell said:The Owen Daniels numbers don't look right according to other sources that had him with $6m guaranteed (so $1.5m in bonus this year) and a $4m salary this year. I'm not sure I want to see him cut, but if he is then yes, definitely re-sign Dreessen.
mario's flexibility ends at 4-3DE and 3-4 OLB. he probably couldn't have played 5tech DE before trimming down so not much chance of him playing it now. he probably will move down to DE on pure passing downs on occasion to shake things up and possibly get their best pass rushers on the field.......but thats the extent of it. Texans do like Braman.......analysts were in love with him during the preseason and it was very difficult to tell him apart from Barwin and Reed. topple that with Cushing still moving around and they've definetly got enuff if Mario moves on. Texans need to let Mario go and fill in other holes. WR/dare i say ILB(Ryans is a shell)/NT(decent talent there but they need a power pig)/CB and SS(don't know how set they are with Quinn)they need Foster back but without breaking the bank on him. Tate has shown very capable and Kubiak in that Denver scheme and shanny RB evaluation can find guys to fit.one minor position i think the texans will address late in the draft that can play major dividends is a finding a great blocking TE. Dreesen is a ok blocker but one would think with how much and how well they run the ball it would be a must. for that reason i could see Dreesen not getting the contract he wants from the Texans. Graham seems able to fill the Daniels/Dreesen moldExcellent post. I could see Demeco being restructured if he's willing. If not, hopefully they could find a trade rather than just cutting him. I really would like for them to find a way to re-sign Mario, though I'll understand if it doesn't happen. According to Nick Scurfield, the Texans thought he was on his way to potentially leading the league in sacks last year before he was hurt.But on top of that is the flexibility that Mario's presence gives the Texans. If Barwin or Reed gets injured, they still have two great pass rushers at OLB. If JJ Watt or Antonio Smith goes down they can move Mario to DE and not lose anything amongst the starters. And Mario's presence means you also have the option of moving Antonio Smith to DT if ever needed for some reason.Having Mario provides a lot of flexibility. Without him the Texans probably need to get another OLB in free agency or in the first 3 rounds of the draft, unless anyone is confident with Jesse Nading or Bryan Braman in there if there is an injury... and Bulman or Jamison if a DE goes down. I think those guys are above average as the level of depth they are on the depth chart, but none of them do I think is going to be a guy you want starting.Crossing my fingers Mario and Arian are both willing to give a bit of a hometown discount. I don't know if either will, but both seem at least possibilities of doing something like that. Foster doesn't seem to sweat the money angle as much as many, and Mario has already made some statements that he doesn't care about being the highest paid, etc. He already had #1 overall pick money, and while I won't fault him for earning as much as he can in his career, it also isn't like he really needs this 2nd contract for financial security, the way Foster does.I have been looking at the Texans cap situation and it looks like they have $5 to $6 million of cap spaceas their contracts stand right now. That is without the following key Free Agents signed:Mario WilliamsArian FosterMike BrisielChris MyersJoel DressenNeil RackersSo how do the Texans Free up cap space to sign all those players? Either cut some players or restructure contracts.Possible Cuts:Jacoby JonesKevin WalterMatt LeinartDemeco RyansPossible Restructuring:Andre JohnsonMatt SchaubOwen DanielsI predict the Texans will do the following:-Give a contract extension to Matt Schaub and restructure his contract so that his cap number is much smaller this year-Restructure Owen Daniels deal to give him a bonus this year and reduce his cap number.-Possibly do the same with Andre Johnson, although they have redone him once and he still has the potential to have a lot of dead money at the end of his deal. If they restructure again, he will have even more potential dead cap money.-Cut Jones, Leinart for sure, possibly Ryans. I don't think they cut Walter because that would leave them too thin at WR.-Resign all of the Free Agents mentioned above, with the possible exception of Rackers if there is another free agent kicker they like better. Mario Williams contract would be structured so that the biggest cap hits would come in 2014 and beyond when the salary cap number will increase dramatically due to the TV deal.-When they resign Arian Foster he will either be franchised or they will sign him to a long term deal. I don't think they will risk losing him via a restricted FA tender.-Draft a WR in the first or second round depending on players available.-I don't see them signing any significant new free agents because they can't afford it.A lot of the restructuring will put a big cap hit in 2014 when the new TV deal goes in place and the Cap increases. This basically gives the Texans a three year window to get something done with the Core group of players they have in place which include Schaub, Foster, Williams, Johnson, Watts, Reed, Joseph, Manning. They probably re-sign Cushing next year, but that may mean they cut Antonio Smith before his contract ends.This is what I think they will do, not necessarily what I think they should do. I still vascilate on whether they should sign Mario to a big contract, especially with his injury history. However, based on the loyalty factor that both McNair and Kubiak operate by, I think they will resign Mario.Thoughts?
My guess is we see a deal with him sometime later this week. Probably means Mario is gone.The franchise tag number for offensive lineman is the same for tackles, guards and centers — an unreasonably large grouping. The team likely can’t clear roughly $9.5 million to tag Myers either, and a long-term deal for him should now be the priority.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/05/no-serious-discussions-between-texans-mario-williams/I am not as sure about MyersIf that's true then that means $12.5M signing bonus. If I've done my math right that would mean salaries of probably 5 & 5.75 guaranteed, and then something like= 6.75, 6.75, 6.75. Signing bonus seems low, my guess that is to try and keep any dead money low in the event that 3~4 years from now we want to part ways if his performance slips.
They could have gotten that cap number much lower in year 1 so yes, likely means they had no intention of even trying to keep Mario. Also makes me wonder if they are parting ways with Chris Myers as well.
His signing bonus was $12.5 million. His base salary of $5 million is guaranteed this year, and $3.25 million of his base is guaranteed next year. That is where you get the $20.75 million guaranteed. Base salaries are 5 million, 5.25 million, 5.75 million, 6 million, and 6.5 million. He also earns $31,250 for every game he plays which is $500,000 if he plays a full year. That adds $2.5 million to his contract which gets you to the $43.5 million dollars over 5 years.I still think they will try to sign Myers and let Brisiel go. They are probably over the cap right now with Arians contract, so they will be doing some cutting and restructuring deals this week to get below the cap and free up some room to at least sign Myers and Dressen.If that's true then that means $12.5M signing bonus. If I've done my math right that would mean salaries of probably 5 & 5.75 guaranteed, and then something like= 6.75, 6.75, 6.75. Signing bonus seems low, my guess that is to try and keep any dead money low in the event that 3~4 years from now we want to part ways if his performance slips.They could have gotten that cap number much lower in year 1 so yes, likely means they had no intention of even trying to keep Mario. Also makes me wonder if they are parting ways with Chris Myers as well.
I imagine most of us would love to have him as a player but don't see any way the Texans would make it work with the salary cap. Texans are worse off than the Steelers in cap room in that the Steelers have a lot of aging players they can cut to save money. Texans are one of the youngest teams in the league. Or, were before signing Delhomme and Garcia last year, heh.What do Texans fans think about making a run at Mike Wallace?
Oh I wasn't aware, wow. ThanksI imagine most of us would love to have him as a player but don't see any way the Texans would make it work with the salary cap. Texans are worse off than the Steelers in cap room in that the Steelers have a lot of aging players they can cut to save money. Texans are one of the youngest teams in the league. Or, were before signing Delhomme and Garcia last year, heh.What do Texans fans think about making a run at Mike Wallace?
I would love to see them do it, but as Greg said, they probably can't clear enough space to get it done. Especially since the deal they would offer him would have to be pretty cap friendly, and that means the Steelers would be able to match it. Wallace will be signed by a team that can afford to lose a late first rounder and has the cap space to make it prohibitive for the Steelers to be able to match.'Greg Russell said:I imagine most of us would love to have him as a player but don't see any way the Texans would make it work with the salary cap. Texans are worse off than the Steelers in cap room in that the Steelers have a lot of aging players they can cut to save money. Texans are one of the youngest teams in the league. Or, were before signing Delhomme and Garcia last year, heh.'benson_will_lead_the_way said:What do Texans fans think about making a run at Mike Wallace?
McShay:Houston TexansRecord: 10-6* Kendall Wright, WR, BaylorWhen the Texans lost Andre Johnson last year, it completely eliminated their ability to stretch the field. That's a problem, because this is a system that thrives on regular use of play-action packages, and it loses a lot of juice if there's nobody around to challenge defenses deep. Wright can do that. His performance in Indy wasn't his best, but his tape shines -- you see a guy that plays fast in pads and beats people deep. His hands are also fine.
Houston TexansRecord: 10-6Kendall Wright, WR, BaylorWright will be looking to improve on the 4.61-second 40-yard dash at the combine when he runs at his March 21 pro day, but his stock hasn't been hurt much because he plays much faster than that on tape. Wright could add another explosive element to the Houston offense and offer the coaching staff all kinds of possibilities lined up opposite Andre Johnson.
It depends on what Manning is looking for in terms of guaranteed $'s.Cutting Schaub would open up $7,150,000 of cap space (Schaub's base salary in 2012). If we did a 3 year deal with an $18 million signingbonus and a base salary of $1 million in 2012, plus incentives, that would pay Manning a minimum of $19 million in the first year, with acap figure of $7 million. Years 2 and 3 would pay let's say base salaries of $5 million and $6 million with big incentives. That would give the Texans cap figures of $11 million and $12 million plus give them some protection if his health doesn't hold up. Manning would be assured areasonably good payday, and if healthy, be paid a lot more by reaching his incentives. We don't know right now what Manning is looking for in terms of dollars. My thought is he is more concerned with finding a good fit then maximizing his payout (as he just got paid $28 million dollars to rehab this year).The real question is whether the Texans will go after him. This does not seem like the type of move the Texans would make, risking a lot of money on an uncertainty. In addition, Peyton is the type of personality that will control the game, and not necessarily listen to the input of his coaches. Kubiak likes to control the offense so I don't know if that would work.The one thing that might push them to do it is there is no guarantee that Schaub will be totally healthy this year and he is in the last year of his contract. Therefore, they probably won't extend him, and he will probably go to free agency if he has a good season this year (if the Texans don't franchise him). Therefore, there's a chance if they stick with Schaub this year and he does well they lose him next year. It might be better if they roll the dice on Peyton and lock him up for 3 years.any way we can make a run at manning? i would take 3 years of manning over 5 years of schaub............
thank for the input. If i was rick smith.......i am making a phone call.It depends on what Manning is looking for in terms of guaranteed $'s.Cutting Schaub would open up $7,150,000 of cap space (Schaub's base salary in 2012). If we did a 3 year deal with an $18 million signingbonus and a base salary of $1 million in 2012, plus incentives, that would pay Manning a minimum of $19 million in the first year, with acap figure of $7 million. Years 2 and 3 would pay let's say base salaries of $5 million and $6 million with big incentives. That would give the Texans cap figures of $11 million and $12 million plus give them some protection if his health doesn't hold up. Manning would be assured areasonably good payday, and if healthy, be paid a lot more by reaching his incentives. We don't know right now what Manning is looking for in terms of dollars. My thought is he is more concerned with finding a good fit then maximizing his payout (as he just got paid $28 million dollars to rehab this year).The real question is whether the Texans will go after him. This does not seem like the type of move the Texans would make, risking a lot of money on an uncertainty. In addition, Peyton is the type of personality that will control the game, and not necessarily listen to the input of his coaches. Kubiak likes to control the offense so I don't know if that would work.The one thing that might push them to do it is there is no guarantee that Schaub will be totally healthy this year and he is in the last year of his contract. Therefore, they probably won't extend him, and he will probably go to free agency if he has a good season this year (if the Texans don't franchise him). Therefore, there's a chance if they stick with Schaub this year and he does well they lose him next year. It might be better if they roll the dice on Peyton and lock him up for 3 years.any way we can make a run at manning? i would take 3 years of manning over 5 years of schaub............
Yeah, just saw that.John McClain @McClain_on_NFL
NFL has suspended Texans punter Brett Hartmann for 4 games for violating substance abuse policy. Got credit 4 1 n playoffs.
Nice the punter.
OOOF.They just released rt Eric Winston and are going to allow one of the best centers in the league test the market. Nervous Arian owner here. What's going on? Are they clearing space for Peyton?
Agreed, this is somewhat shocking....wonder if they've got a deal with Myers or somethinghttp://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/12/texans-cut-eric-winston/I was in the camp that Winston was a bit overpaid/over hyped, but not a candidate for outright release.
Derek Newton was active alot last year and played some goal line TE, but did they really see enough.BTW, according to PFTtalk. the Texans were over the cap around 4.75ish million, so does Winston cut bring them under w/o any other moves.I'm just a fan of having a contingency plan in place before releasing contributors, you know?So... Derek Newton? Andrew Gardner? Draft someone or sign them in free agency?