While Vonta Leach invited himself out of Houston last week on Twitter, Houston general manager Rick Smith either isn’t quite ready to let that happen or is engaging in some clever PR spin as he made it clear at a Tuesday press conference that the Texans are still interested in re-signing Leach:
"We’ve talked to Vonta and his representatives, and he knows we want him back," Smith said. "We’ve communicated that to him."
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Smith called the fullback position "a bit of a dying art" when asked about the crop available in this year’s draft. His press conference ended with a question about what direction the Texans would go at fullback if Leach does not return.
"I think that there’s some options," Smith said. "We won’t know anything about our ability to sign Vonta back prior to the draft, but I don’t think we’re going into the draft saying we’ve got to get a fullback. That’s kind of a bit of a hypothetical."
Sounds like, at the least, the Texans will make an effort to bring him back still. Keep in mind that outside of Andre Johnson, the Texans have been very hesitant to hand top-tier money to anyone at a position though. According to The Houston Chronicle’s Jerome Solomon, who took a break from trolling Daryl Morey fans, the failure to bring Leach back would send the wrong message to the team:
Keep losing 10 games a year and the Texans could have a heck of a lot less for which to be fiscally responsible. Actually, one more 10-loss campaign and Smith might not be responsible at all. He and Gary Kubiak could exit together.
Don’t even try to talk about the money being better spent elsewhere. Leach’s signing won’t prevent the Texans from signing other players, including high-dollar free agents, who could blow their noses with Leach’s tidy little sum.
I’m not a big believer in the theory that the Texans need to re-sign Vonta Leach. Great player, but all fullbacks should have a price tag that you don’t need to cross in this day and age. However, Solomon does breach a good point in his article: what kind of message does it send to the players and fanbase if the Texans don’t re-sign Leach? Particularly weighed against the fact that Smith and Gary Kubiak have accomplished nothing but a nine win season in five years in Houston?