INDIANAPOLIS -- David Carr hasn't avoided many sacks during his five NFL seasons, but so far he's avoided being sacked by the Houston Texans.
Although the Texans haven't given up on the idea of trading Carr, general manager Rick Smith and coach Gary Kubiak gave Carr an endorsement as the Texans' starting quarterback for 2007. But those endorsements were about as shaky as Carr's pass protection.
"David Carr is our quarterback, and frankly, I'm interested in David playing better and performing more consistent and improving our offense," Smith said. "There has been so much rumor and innuendo right after the season. There were some clubs who were curious if, in fact, he was available. So I did take a couple of calls."
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David Carr threw just 11 TD passes last season.Since that time, though, the calls have quieted down. Smith said Carr could be had if the right trade came up, but the market for Carr hasn't developed.
It has been speculated that the Texans might be willing to take a third-round choice for Carr, a price that might be considered a bargain for a 27-year-old quarterback taken at the top of the draft just five years ago. But listening to Smith speak Thursday at the scouting combine, a third-rounder might not be enough.
"I think you improve your team a couple of different ways," Smith said. "You get players on your team to play better and perform better and coach them hard. Or you go out and acquire other players. If we can acquire something in a trade for David that would make sense for us to improve our football team, we will entertain that."
A third-round pick for a team that is coming off a 6-10 season and has a 24-56 record over its five-year history won't lead to any rapid turnarounds. The Texans are tired of losing and so is Carr. But Carr is content to stay in Houston if the Texans want him. He has three years remaining on his contract. Smith has talked to Carr's agent, Michael Sullivan, and Smith said Carr and Sullivan understand the situation in Houston.
The Texans want to win now and are looking to make moves that will make them more competitive in the AFC South. Moving Carr isn't going to net a boatload of draft choices or players, and the Texans clearly need players. If no deal can be made, the team will be content to stay with Carr as its starting quarterback.
"That's our approach," Kubiak said. "We all have to get better. David has to get better. He's part of that. We all have to get a lot better, including this coach right here. And I have to continue working with David. He's the key to our franchise getting better."
One option that seems to be stalled at the moment is a trade for Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer. Plummer, who was close to Kubiak in Denver, has been replaced by Jay Cutler as Denver's starting quarterback. Though Kubiak and Broncos coach Mike Shanahan are close, a Plummer trade doesn't appear to be close to happening.
Smith, in fact, wouldn't talk about Plummer on Thursday because he is property of the Broncos.
"It hasn't quieted down with the media," Smith said of the Carr trade rumors. "I only talked to a couple clubs about him. I don't know if there is going to be any interest. The interest is generated more by the media than anything. David is our starting quarterback. We're excited about him playing in his offense."