Texans Running Back Arian Foster Doesn't Care For The NCAA, Believes Players Should Be Paid

Texans Free Agency: Houston Signs Punter Donnie Jones

2012 Texans Free Agency: Houston Receives No Compensatory Picks

The NFL has announced that 32 compensatory picks will be handed out to 15 teams for the upcoming draft, but the Houston Texans are not amongst the recipients of the additional picks.

The NFL determines the number of compensatory picks as well as the recipients based upon the effect the previous year of free agency had on each club. While the Texans did not lose any major free agents in 2011 that went on to make significant contributions for their new teams last season, they'll certainly be in line for compensatory picks next offseason with the defection of Mario Williams to Buffalo.

Three teams - the New York Jets, Green Bay Packers, and Cleveland Browns - received four picks each.

The compensatory picks are slotted at the end of rounds, beginning with round three, and are not available for trade.

For more on the Houston Texans, be sure to check out Battle Red Blog and SB Nation's NFL page.

Joel Dreesen To Sign With Broncos, According To Reports

Joel Dreesen is headed out of Houston. The free agent tight end had narrowed his decision down to returning to Houston, largely as a backup to Owen Daniels, or heading to Denver. Reports are now surfacing that Dreesen will sign with the Broncos after five seasons in Houston:

Free agent TE Joel Dreessen says he will sign with the Denver Broncos

— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) March 23, 2012

Dreesen caught 28 passes for 353 yards and six touchdowns in 2011, totalling 1,364 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns for his career. Dreesen is looking for a more expanded role, and the signing of Peyton Manning to the Broncos offense certainly promises a steady amount of pass distribution. Look for the Texans not to sign a replacement, but likely draft a successor in April.

For more on the Houston Texans, be sure to check out Battle Red Blog and SB Nation's NFL page.

2012 NFL Free Agency: Joel Dreessen Deciding Between Texans, Broncos By Friday Morning

According to The Houston Chronicle's John McClain, Houston Texans free agent tight end Joel Dreessen will be choosing between signing with the Texans or the Denver Broncos by Friday morning.

Dreessen has spent the last five seasons with the Texans, for the most part as a backup to Owen Daniels, but has been a very solid second tight end for Houston. He's coming off a season in which he caught 28 passes for 353 yards and six touchdowns and in his career he has 1,364 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. He is likely looking for a place where he can have a larger role with a team, which could be one of the reasons he is thinking about Denver.

If he chooses not to re-sign with the Texans, Houston will likely look to the draft to find a new tight end to compliment Daniels.

For more on the Texans, head to Battle Red Blog, and for more updates on the team's free agency moves, follow SB Nation Houston's StoryStream.

NFL Free Agents 2012: Mario Williams May Be Good Fit For Jaguars

The free agent season will begin in earnest on March 13, but already there is no end to the rumors and speculation swirling around. One of the hottest commodities on the open market is sure to be Houston Texans linebacker Mario Williams.

Elliot Harrison of NFL.com took a look at six high-profile free agents on Wednesday, including Williams. Harrison speculates that the best fit for the top linebacker on the market might be the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mario Williams to ... Jacksonville?

It ain't easy finding a player who has 53 sacks on his résumé, is 27 years old and can play in the 4-3 or 3-4 as an edge rusher. With so many potential suitors, where will Williams end up? The best fit would be a team that plays a four-man front, and has much in the way of cap room, unless Williams will be its only big acquisition.

While the former Texan learned the 3-4 last season under Wade Phillips, the bottom line is that he's only played five games in that scheme and is a bit oversized (if there is such a thing) to play weak-side linebacker. Thus, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers initially appear to be strong suitors as a franchise with a ton of cap space. Unfortunately, the Bucs also have problems inside, and with a new staff, it's hard to determine if they want to get into the Williams sweepstakes. The Buffalo Bills have cap space, and are switching back to a four-man front, so they, too, are a possibility. The Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons are others who could be in the mix.

But how about the Jacksonville Jaguars? They play a 4-3, and have not been able to get any pressure in the Gene Smith era. During Smith's three years as GM, Jacksonville has finished 32nd, 30th, and 25th in the league in sacks. Consider that they've faced Williams twice a year and know his game. Lastly, this organization has over $40 million in cap space. Rumor has it the Jags won't spend big money on free agents (plural). My sense is that's true ... but there's a difference between getting multiple starters in free agency and one big fish.

The thought of Williams wearing green and...whatever Jacksonville's other colors are...in the fall may not sit well with Texans fans, but we will have to see how this all shakes out.

For more new on Mario Williams and the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog and SB Nation's NFL page.

NFL Free Agency 2012, Mario Williams' Strange Dance With The Texans Could Be Ending

The period for teams to apply franchise tags, be they exclusive or not, has passed, and linebacker Mario Williams is now set to hit the open market in what's likely to become a bidding war for the former No. 1 overall pick's services. Doing so would've likely sunk the remainder of Houston's offseason with a likely $20-22 million dollar hit on this season's salary cap.

And so, Williams is poised to become the biggest fish in a deep pond of free agents, and more than likely he'll be playing somewhere other than Houston. It's a somewhat odd ending to Williams' career with the Texans - he was converted to a linebacker in Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme to initial criticism, suffered some injuries and then became a productive force - but no stranger than his arrival. As CBS' Pete Prisco writes, the long, long evaluation of the 2006 NFL Draft proved the Texans and Williams winners after so much criticism from fans for not taking Reggie Bush or hometown hero Vince Young:

Nearly 50 months ago, the Houston Texans opted to pick defensive end Mario Williams over Heisman Trophy tailback Reggie Bush with the initial selection in the 2006 draft. And many pundits, including this one, chastised then-Texans general manager Charley Casserly for the choice.

Six years later, there's plenty of crow to go around.

As for his future, Prisco reports that Williams' preference is to work as a defensive end in the 4-3, rather than his new role as an OLB in the 3-4. Therefore it's likely that Williams will close the book on Houston by his own choice after years of being considered the wrong choice by fans.

For more new on Mario Williams and the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog and SB Nation's NFL page.

Arian Foster Paid Like A Top Five Player At RB

Foster should be the fifth-highest payed running back next season, going by base salaries. If you go by average salary, that number jumps up to the fourth-highest paid guy.

Arian Foster And Texans Agree To Five Year, $43.5 Million Deal

Details are now emerging on the five-year contract the Houston Texans and running back Arian Foster have agreed upon, and it stands to make Foster a cornerstone of the Texans' offense:

Arian Foster joins AP and CJ atop RB $$ ranks. $43.5M over 5 years, $20.75M guar, $30m in 1st 3 years of deal, $18M in 2012. #insideslant

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 5, 2012

The "AP and CJ" referenced would be the Vikings' Adrian Peterson and Titans' Chris Johnson, both of whom set the standard of pay for premiere running backs in the NFL. That's sure to draw some attention across the league, especially among the Ravens and Bears, who are set to try and resign Ray Rice and Matt Forte, respectively.

While this is a huge deal for the Texans, concern has to immediately arise when considering the weight of this deal and the need to resign outside linebacker Mario Williams. Battle Red Blog has some quick-math analysis, and while it's not impossible, it's also not looking great:

A little back o' the envelope math suggests that $6.925M is about the smallest cap hit that the contract could have in 2012. With $20.75M guaranteed, that would be $4.125M/year amortized. To get to $18M paid in 2012, you'd need a $14M signing bonus, working out to $2.8M/year over the 5 years.

Taking that a step further, $30M over the first three likely means closer to $6M in each of the next two seasons (nearly $9M cap hit each) or 2013 structured a lot like 2012 (roughly $7M cap hit) and 2013 with around $8M in base salary (roughly $11M cap hit).

Point being, I don't think this contract improves the odds of signing Mario by any stretch, but I might have been the slightest bit hasty in saying that the door was completely closed if the the 2012 hit really is less than $7M.

For more on the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog and SB Nation's NFL page.

Arian Foster To Sign A Five-Year Deal With Texans, According To Reports

The Houston Texans and Arian Foster have agreed to terms on a five-year deal, according to multiple reports. No details have been released yet, but the Houston Chronicle's John McClain has confirmed the Texans and Foster's agent finalized a contract overnight, and that Foster will not receive the franchise tag.

The breakout back was one of the league's bargains last year, rushing for 1,224 yards, catching 53 passes for 617 yards and racking up 12 total touchdowns, all for just over a half million dollars. Foster was an undrafted free agent from Tennessee in 2009.

By avoiding the franchise tag with Foster, it's possible the Texans could apply it to one of their other big name free agents. Outside linebacker / former defensive end Mario Williams is the next big name for the Texans front office to iron out a deal with.

For more on the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog and SB Nation's NFL page.

Texans Free Agency: Arian Foster Warrants Houston's Franchise Tag

The Houston Texans have a major issue looming with the restricted free agency of Arian Foster. While they have some level of security built in (hence the "restricted" part), another team could come in and take him and give up a first round pick in the process if he were to sign a deal with another team. Thus the franchise tag could come in handy if the Texans did not want to worry about losing their star.

That's what Nate Davis of USA Today advises and says that using the franchise tag on Foster makes the most sense -- not only for the sake of the security there but also because other positions will make it cost-prohibitive.

Davis writes, 'Since franchising Williams at 120% of his 2011 salary would cost nearly $22 million, the Texans can't realistically do it; fortunately for them, he seems open to striking an accord. Tagging Myers or Brisiel would be close to a $10 million proposition, also unwise.

"If Foster isn't franchised, he could be targeted by other teams even with a first-round tender," he continues. "It'd be nice if Matt Forte and/or Ray Rice get extensions to give Houston a framework for locking up Foster, but we'd franchise him just to be safe before getting a four- or five-year pact put together."

For more on the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog, and for the latest news from around the NFL, visit SB Nation's NFL page.

Texans Free Agency 2012: Green Bay Shows Interest In Potential Houston Free Agent C Chris Myers, According To A Report

According to a report, the Green Bay Packers have shown an interest in acquiring Houston Texans center and potential free agent Chris Myers. Teams will be able to sign unrestricted free agent signing period begins on March 13th, and the Packers met with Drew Rosenhaus, Myers' agent.

The 2011 Pro Bowler has started in every single game for the last six years, the last four with the Texans. The Packers are targeting Myers as a replacement to the incumbent Scott Wells at the center position. Wells was also a 2011 Pro Bowl selection,and has made 100 starts for Green Bay over the last eight years.

Myers earned $2.75 million last season and now that the Pro Bowler designation can be added to his resume, a new contract should look to bump up his pay to some of the top centers in the game.

For more on the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog, and for the latest news from around the NFL, visit SB Nation's NFL page.

Arian Foster Could Receive Franchise Tag By Texans

Today - Monday, Feb. 20 - marks the first day NFL teams can assign franchise tags to their free agents, a period extending through March 5. While some teams have clear-cut needs for the designation and some teams might not exercise the franchise tag at all, the Texans could use the option to lock up Arian Foster for 2013. Short of Mario Williams, Foster is the biggest name/need on the Texans' offseason to-do list. SB Nation blogger Joel Thorman speculates a franchise tag is the safest route for Houston to keep Foster:

Texans: Arian Foster. Similar situation as [Mike] Wallace. Foster is a restricted free agent but there's concern he wouldn't be safe with a first-round tender. So the question becomes whether Foster gets the franchise tag or not. I think he probably does just so the Texans can be sure and sleep at night. But things will get interesting if Foster has a first-round tender on him. Another huge free agent for Houston is Mario Williams, but he's just too expensive. The franchise tag would be nearly $22 million for him and the Texans can't afford that. They'll try their best to work out a long-term deal with him.

For more on the Houston Texans, check out Battle Red Blog, and for the latest news from around the NFL, visit SB Nation's NFL page.

Jeffri Chadiha Paints A Bleak Reality For Mario Williams' Future With The Houston Texans

Mario Williams Not Concerned About Huge Contract

On the heals of heading to the playoffs for the first time in the history of the franchise, the Houston Texans could possibly lose the offseason's top free agent, defensive end/outside linebacker Mario Williams. Williams is coming off a season in which he only played five games, but that didn't stop him from having five sacks and becoming the top unrestricted free agent in the NFL.

You would think that Williams would be off looking for a massive contract from one of the few teams that could afford to bring him in, but that's not the case. According to Williams, he is more concerned about being in a place where he can win and be successful than he is about his weekly paycheck.

"I'm not worried about that," Williams said Thursday. "It's really not that big of a deal to me. I was the first pick (in 2006), and I've already had everything I really wanted, so my biggest thing is to be in a good position, a good scheme, a good system and continuing my career. Hopefully, it works out.

"It's always important to be in a position to be successful. That comes with teammates around you, coaching, having that winning attitude. You want to (play) where you can thrive no matter where you are."

Williams went on to say that he loves playing for the Texans and that the team has all the right pieces and everything they need to be successful in the future. The team can't afford to use the franchise tag on him (he would get $22.9 million for the 2012 season if they did) and they'll likely have to work out a long-term deal to keep him around. That may not be nearly as tough as many originally thought, though.

For more on the Texans, head to Battle Red Blog.

Arian Foster Free Agency: Avoiding 'The Poison Pill' Contracts

Houston Texans Vow To Make Mario Williams Their 'Top Priority' This Off-Season

Mario Williams looks to become a free agent after the 2012 season, will the Houston Texans step up to the plate and sign him long term?