NFL PING
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Posted on 02/10/2006 12:02:42 PM PST by Cyclopean Squid
HONOLULU -- In a move that could augur the selection of Southern California tailback Reggie Bush as the first overall pick in the 2006 draft, league sources here for the Pro Bowl confirmed late Thursday that the Houston Texans have exercised a "buy back" clause in quarterback David Carr's contract, paying him an $8 million bonus to secure his services for three more seasons.
The Texans, who announced the extension Friday in a news release, did not provide details, but called a 2 p.m. news conference to discuss the deal.
Retaining the four-year veteran quarterback, who would have become eligible for unrestricted free agency had the Texans not exercised the option, makes it highly unlikely that Houston will choose Texas quarterback Vince Young with the top pick in the draft April 29.
Some fans have urged the Texans to choose Young, a Houston native. But Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported weeks ago that Houston officials are locked in on Bush, the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner.
There is still some chance that Houston could choose Young or perhaps Southern California quarterback Matt Leinart. But doing so would mean keeping a young quarterback on the bench for a few seasons, or trading Carr.
The Texans' confidence has wavered only slightly in Carr in four seasons. Every indication in recent weeks was that the Texans would pay the "buy back" bonus to keep Carr.
Former NFL head coach Dan Reeves, who served as a consultant to Texans owner Bob McNair, recommended keeping Carr, the top overall choice in the 2002 draft. First-year head coach Gary Kubiak, who has a strong reputation around the league for developing quarterbacks and whose presence could enhance Carr's performance, apparently gave him a strong endorsement, too.
Carr, 26, has appeared in 60 games, starting 59. He has completed 941 of 1,628 passes for 10,624 yards, with 48 touchdowns passes, 53 interceptions and a passer rating of 73.7. But the former Fresno State star has suffered from a lack of support, particularly on the offensive line.
He has been sacked an amazing 208 times in his career, including a league-record 76 times in 2002 and 68 times during the 2005 campaign. Carr has a 16-43 record as a starter.
Under the terms of the complicated seven-year, $46.75 million contract Carr signed as a rookie, the final three seasons of the deal were voidable. Early in his career, Carr reached sufficient performance levels to cancel those three years, and technically, his contract would have expired on March 3, the first day of free agency.
But the Texans had the right to "buy back" the voidable years and had two options for doing so. The first would have involved paying Carr a bonus of $5.5 million to buy back two seasons, at base salaries of $5 million for 2006 and $5.25 million for 2007. The second, the deal for which Houston opted, included the $8 million bonus, which bought back three seasons, at base salaries of $5.25 million each in 2006 and 2007 and of $6 million in 2008.
At one point during the season, Houston officials considered the possibility of exercising the two-year option. The Texans also reviewed which NFL franchises might need a quarterback of starting caliber in the next few years, in the event they decided to trade Carr.
They have never come close, however, to putting Carr on the market.
2005 SEASON STATISTICS Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat 423 256 2064 14 11 77.2
Ping
Either pick will not help them.
I haven’t been that impressed with Carr, but maybe the addition of a back like Bush will take some of the pressure off him. Personally, I would shop Carr and sign Young (yes, pass on Bush and Leinert). That would keep him in Texas, boosting fan support and keeping the seats filled.
The Texans should trade the draft pick for offensive linemen. Dominick Davis is a pretty good RB, and they are going to find that out when he does to another team and makes the Pro Bowl with them.
Amen. We get a good offensive line, the whole team improves dramatically. They'll open up holes for the RB and give time to Carr to find a receiever. Centers, guards, and tackles don't get glory but are the essential ingredient of a good team. They can make any semi-fast RB look awesome.
It looks like it will go down that way. Hexed-ans want Bush, Saints want Leinart (bet San Fran is looking a lot better now than it was last year), and Titans want Vince. A very strong draft class. Plus there's a whole bunch more who are supposed to be very good (I've exhausted my knowledge already).
They already assured Bush he would be their first pick.
The Texans will rue the day they passed on Vince Young.
I agree. I think they should take Young as well, he is a Houston native and would be a better selection.
Bush is great but look no further than the title came between USC/Texas to see who is the "impact" player.
Quite right. Until they have an offensive line they are simply endangering the professional lives of anyone in their backfield.
If Vince can play in the NFL like he did in the Rose Bowl, then the Texans will rue their draft choice. I don't think he'll be that dominant, though. USC had no answer for him but the pros will (he had wide open receivers every throw, and USC was playing deep allowing him to scramble). He'll be good, but he won't be rushing for 200+ yards.
Meanwhile, Bush had one of his worst games (that Lateral!) and was stymied by the Texas D. It may be a sign to come of when he faces good D in the pros.
One thing about Vince, he would have an instant fan base. However, if Bush can help turn the team around and the Hexed-ans become successful, that will also improve attendance.
VY will not succeed in the pros. After he scrambles a few times and get the sh_t knocked out of him by guys like, Bruschi, Urlacher, McGinest, Porter, Ray Lewis, Polamalu and others the coaches will put a stop to it before he gets killed. As a passer he is only average and the pro secondaries will eat him for lunch.
The smart thing to do is convert him to a WR and use his agility/speed in a one on one with corners.
Thanks. I didn't get my wish of a good game, but I did have one heck of a BBQ. I won't begrudge the Steelers, but some of their fans have taken over the Bengals' forums I've been visiting and have been rather difficult to deal with. Your own B-day is sometime in Feb, isn't it?
There have been very few scrambling QBs who have done well in the pros, on a consistent basis. And they have great arms. I'm thinking of Steve Young here. Hey--maybe Steve is actually Vince's father? Same surname, same position, similar playing style? Hmmm.
The best VY can hope for is to be a Jake Plummer or Matt Hasselbeck--both very capable QBs. He may scramble in certain situations for first downs. We'll see. It will be fun to watch him. I also hope Leinart does well (I think he'll do better in the pros, but you never know).
I think big name college QBs do not fare well over all since they do not face real good secondaries in college. There are excepts, but most QB's that make it are from obscure smaller colleges, funny how that works in almost all positions. You watch the line-up introductions in the pros and only a few went to a top 25 college. Most colleges have one stellar DB the pros have someone the bench. Same goes for other defensive positions, every team has a stand out that every team double teams.
He won't fare well.
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