Unlike many others I am absolutely convinced that a player such as Nnamdi Asumogha is a player worthy of breaking the bank for, especially for this team. Aside from the unified sentiment of all that there is a veteran presence needed for the group I disagree with many others that Bob McNair is a man who is just merely about his pocket books. I believe he is a man who is fair and just merely doesn't want to get duped into making a mistake that would hurt both the franchise and then inevitably himself. That being said he saw the value of Andre Johnson and immediately rectified his contract so as to assure him of being the highest paid WR in the NFL. All this being said however the reason I am posting this is because John McClain keeps writing that there would be no chance of us getting him mainly because of the cost of making him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. The contract he keeps eluding to when referring to this is the Julius Peppers contract worthy of a guaranteed $42 million dollars. So my question isn't more about your opinion of the guy but more of if the rules are in place (assuming labor terms are negotiated and we have a collective bargaining agreement in place) what would the salary cap implications be if the Texans were to take on a contract of this magnitude and would we be able to do this without hindering other cornerstone players and their contracts such as Mario Williams (assuming he's deemed worthy of an extention) and their futures with our organization. If someone could please provide an answer for this that would be great. Thanks!
It's impossible to say because we don't know what the new rules will be under the CBA. But going on the previous CBA, the hard cap was at $128 million in 2009. The Texans were at $123 million last year in the uncapped year, and we certainly don't have a lot of dead weight contracts on the roster to get rid of. Mario Williams, Schaub, and Arian Foster are all due raises next offseason or the year after. Currently, I estimate the cap figures look something like this for our other high priced players (salaries from rotoworld + averaging incentives/signing bonuses into the cap figure). I am certainly no expert, so these are just some rough figures that I gathered. Andre Johnson = ~8 mil and up through 2016 Demeco Ryans = ~7 mil and up through 2015 Owen Daniels = ~5.5 mil through 2014 Schaub = ~7 mil (2011), ~8.5 (2012), ~11.2 if option is picked up (2013) Mario Williams = 13.8 mil (2011), >14 mil if re-signed (2012) Foster = 480k (2011), minimum 5 mil if re-signed (2012) That's a total of about $41 million just for those six players in 2011, and that will likely jump up over $50 million in 2012 if Mario and Foster are re-signed. And in 2013, Schaub will likely demand a pretty fat raise if he stays productive. Nnamdi is due at least 15 mil per year (based off of Peppers contract last offseason) and might take more to get here, so that puts you at $65 million (and rising) in 2012 for 7 players. That's a lot of dough for less than 15% of your roster, which is why it is even more unlikely that Bob goes for it. At some point something would have to give, and I have a feeling that it would be some combination of Demeco, OD, and Mario getting the ax (should we sign Nnamdi). But, who knows how the CBA will shake out. I am no expert on that either, but it could result in something that could make it more feasible to get this done.
Gut feeling that I know where this is going.... Jerruh will see this as Deion Sanders redux. Rumor is that the Cowboys will jettison Terrence Newman and then bring Asomugha in (assuming he would sign). A little concerned about what we would have to pay him, but it would be a huge upgrade.
↑↑ Suck, suck, suck, suck. That would suck. My NFL rooting interests are as follows: Texans Cowboys' opponent Titans' opponent :grin::grin:
That's a very interesting analysis. Thank you very much for it. Additionally we have the signings of Shaun Cody, Kevin Walter, Eric Winston, Antonio Smith and potentially Vonta Leach & Jacoby Jones to factor in too. J.J Watt, Brian Cushing, Amobi Okoye, Kareem Jackson and Duane Brown are receiving first round salaries and all in all that's a pretty hefty payroll. However with that said I count 14 positions out of 22 as solidified starters in that list, while 3 of those are entrenched currently as solid backups. All this being said I think after looking into everything if Nnamdi is signed you're right somebody is probably going to be deemed as a candidate on the way out. And when you really think about it with Wade Phillips in, it's probably going to be Mario if he doesn't have a big year. Wow let's see. It'll be very interesting to see what they do. I still do believe however that though this may constrain us a little (eh probably quite a bit) this is absolutely the correct move the organization should make. A young group who have lost their confidence along the way can be led towards disaster unless they have some serious guidance and although coach's have the capability of giving that to them there's nothing better than having a real life example right there in front of you. That would be absolutely invaluable. Also Nnamdi seems to resemble the brand the Houston Texans typically like to stand for. The outstanding citizen who takes care of his business on the field and isn't a problem off. So here's to hoping for a miracle.
It's obvious the Texans had MANY holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball.. We had a good draft, but we're not done yet and it will all mean nothing if we don't follow it up strong in FA. I think those hoping for Aso need to temper their expectations based on what we saw from our draft. Signing Aso would be the draft equivalent of trading away our whole draft to move up for Peterson. Wade knows now like he knew then that we have too many needs for Aso or PP. As much as I wanted Peterson, I'd rather have JJ, Reed, and Harris. As much as I want Aso, I'd rather have Weddle + Joseph.
If we get Weddle and Joseph you will hear no complaining from me. But free agency is unlike the draft in that the players have a choice in where they go. You just have to talk to every player and gauge their interest and go from there. If we ignore Aso just to go after those two, what happens if we get shut out by them? You have to at least feel out Nnamdi to see if there is a level of interest there.
I think we'd be better of with Asumogha @$16M than Mario @$14M going forward. As good as he can be, Mario, especially considering his health and now his new role, hasn't demonstrated that he will be a perennial Pro Bowl guy despite being paid like one. I'm not eager to push him out the door, but he needs a paycut if he's sticking around. 5 years in, and he's averaging just shy of 10 sacks a season, only twice getting to double figures. Maybe he does thrive in the new system. Maybe it's best for all involved if a 4-3 team pays him $14M as a free agent and we draft a true WOLB in 2012. Having said all that, it'd shock me if McNair opened up his wallet for Asomugha. I think they'll chase Taylor and Jeffries, I think they'll bring in Sensabaugh for the other safety spot, and that'll be that.
Im eager to see how many DEs have been as productive as him over the last 5 years. Very few, in fact. Throw in the fact that he has had almost no help on the DLine, and its amazing what he has been able to accomplish. If only he had someone like Robert Mathis on the other side (Like Freeney does). A lot of people like knocking Mario for not being that "pro bowl" player...but the pro bowl is a popularity contest. If it was a measure of actual success on the field, Williams would easily be among the best in the AFC.
I agree with you, Asomugha makes way more sense than Williams at those prices. Asomugha is bar-none the best CB in the league. Williams is a top 5 DE at best.
