The Link February 24 (2:00 PM): Texans interested in Pace...There is an unconfirmed story circulating at Indianapolis as the combines wind down that Houston would be prepared to offer St. Louis the 3rd pick overall at the 2003 draft for OT Orlando Pace, on whom the Rams have applied a franchise tag. The Texans, of course, are looking to shore up a very leaky offensive line that allowed rookie QB David Carr to be sacked a league-record 76 times last fall. The Texans are hoping that veteran OT Tony Boselli will be able to play this fall, but after missing most of the past two seasons with injuries there are no guarantees whether Boselli will play again or for how long. Meanwhile, its hard to image the Rams parting with Pace, one of the premier offensive linemen in the NFL, for a measly first rounder, even a 'lottery' pick. The Texans, though, could make the Rams life difficult by signing Pace to an offer sheet that St. Louis, which will not have much salary cap space heading into the free agent signing period, would have trouble matching. In that scenario, if the Rams didn't match, the Rams would then be entitled to two #1 picks from Houston.
I read this earlier and wondered who was after our pick. Now I know. Texans | Not Looking To Move Up 11:32 PT: Houston Texans coach Dom Capers told Dave Richard of NFL.com his team is not looking to move up in the NFL Draft. When asked if the team had any talks about moving up, Capers replied, "No, we have not discussed that whatsoever. The only discussions have been with people that want to come up to the third pick because they have a player in mind."
Also looks like Jermaine Lewis may be a Packer next year: Packers | Interested in Lewis 10:10 PT: Pete Dougherty of PackersNews.com reports the Green Bay Packers may now be in the mix for acquiring WR/KR Jermaine Lewis. His agent, Ken Landphere, says the team hasn’t yet contacted him, but he expects them to do so after the combine.
I read on Espn.com that Andre Johnson from Miami weighed in at 230 lbs all muscle. If he still has his speed he might be very tempting to the Texans.
I would make that trade. No major impact player will likely be available at #3 anyway (at least, none on offense) and we could only hope to find a guy like Pace in the draft or in free agency anyway, so I say go for it.
I take Andre Johnson and be thankful he's there at 3. IMO this is the guy who's going to be THE receiver out of this class, not Charles Rogers. Rogers is great, don't get me wrong, but I think Johnson will be a top 3 receiver after 3 years in the league.
Pace is kinda old isn't he? I'd rather trade down, and get an extra #1 or #2... Draft a WR and an OT with the 2 picks...
i would make the trade, and hope that the boss will be healthy and then the question will be who will be the LT and who will be the RT.... man that would be sweet
This is like an NFL2K3 draft. Stock up on the best lineman and then wail away. I say go for it. We have money to spend at this point.
holy crap, i like you're thinking! pace and a healthy boselli anchoring the tackle spots would be unfreakingreal. (yes, i did just blend that all into one word). ok..i like the idea..particularly since learning pace is only 27.
He`s also working out for the Dolphins this week. I`m not sure I would trade the pick for Pace. I would rather see the Texans trade down and grab 2 lower 1st round draft picks and get 2 quality lineman who will grow with the club and not be such a burden on the salary cap. I look at this draft as a building block for the future with quality players who will develop with the coaching schemes.
I'd do this trade, only if Pace and the Texans can agree to a reasonable contract. Pace will be a free agent after this season, and obviously with Pace being one of the premier OL in the league will command a great deal of money. I read somewhere (willtry to find a link), that Pace and his agent were looking for a sizeable amount a year (8-10 million) with a huge signing bonus around $17 million. So if these are the conditions, then I say no. The best thing to do is to trade down and draft for depth. There are no premier players at the greatest area of need---OL.
even if there were premier OL players in the draft, they wouldn't be premier next year...they wouldn't provide Carr the protection he needs to keep from getting injured. if he takes 70 or so sacks again next year, that's trouble. they need some veteran presence on the OL immediately.
I'd get Pace in here quick for the the #3. An offensive lineman of that quality is extremely valuable.
Bingo! It's a great pickup but no way do you risk trading away a #3 pick for someone who may only want to be here for a year or two. Now if you get him to agree to a 4-5 year deal then I would do it no questions asked.
Don't know a thing about Jordan Gross, but I doubt he will be the player that Pace is. Pace is only 27, I'd rather have his next 6 years than Gross's next ten. Of course, I don't know a thing about Gross, really.