The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain is reporting that the Texans have reached and agreement with tight end Owen Daniels on a new contract.
Daniels was tendered yesterday at a first round level, meaning he would have gotten the second-highest tender if the system had stayed in place for players of his experience bracket.
Daniels has been injured for much of the last two seasons, and the Texans currently employ four separate tight ends that they’ve invested a lot of development into, and that’s not counting perpetually injured fourth-rounder Anthony Hill. It was thought that those tight ends would keep the Texans from making a big offer to Daniels, but apparently the Texans decided he was their best option in the passing game after Andre Johnson.
EDIT: ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that the deal is for four years and worth $22 million. No word on how much of that comes as a bonus yet, but that's a pretty decent sized chunk of change for a tight end coming off two straight years of injuries.
But then again, the owners don't really make enough money.
EDIT 2: According to FoxSports.com's Adam Caplan, Daniels will receive just below $14 million in the first two years of the contract. Still no word on how big his bonus is, but again, that's a pretty high figure for a guy with a lengthy injury history.
FINAL EDIT: McClain is now reporting that Daniels will get $6 million guaranteed. That makes the overall deal look a little better, but it's still a bit of a headscratcher for a team that desperately needs to spend money upgrading the other side of the ball.