http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3718558.html By JOHN McCLAIN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Today was another busy day for the Texans, who lost their first unrestricted free agent, signed a restricted free agent to an offer sheet and spent most of the afternoon with New England receiver David Givens. Givens, one of the prime free-agent prospects, wants $25 million over five years. That's out of the Texans' ballpark. Givens, a Humble native, is headed to Nashville to visit with the Titans. If Tennessee comes closes to the $25-million demand, the Titans may get the four-year veteran. The Texans were excited about the possibility of signing Givens and starting him opposite Andre Johnson. Late Saturday night, the Texans said Boston-based agent Brad Blank informed them that Givens was going to re-sign with New England. This morning, Givens came to Houston as scheduled, told the Texans there had been some miscommunication and that he was definitely interested in returning to his hometown team. Unfortunately for the Texans, Givens left Reliant Stadium without a contract. They still haven't given up on him, but the price is too high. Meanwhile, guard Milford Brown, who started 12 games last season, signed a four-year contract with Arizona. Coach Dennis Green plans for Brown to start at guard and help open holes for running back Edgerrin James, who signed with the Cardinals today. The Texans signed Cincinnati receiver Kevin Walter, a three-year veteran, to an offer sheet the Bengals have one week to match. If Cincinnati elects not to match, the Texans get Walter and surrender a seventh-round pick for him. Walter, 24, is 6-3, 214. A three-year veteran from Eastern Michigan, he caught 19 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown last season. Walter also was an outstanding special teams player. Those close to the Bengals believe they may match the offer for two reasons: Coach Marvin Lewis likes the way Walter improved last season. And Chris Henry's off-the-field problems means Walter has become more valuable to them. Also today, the Texans had a news conference in which they introduced three new free agent additions -- defensive end Anthony Weaver, quarterback Sage Rosenfels and fullback Jameel Cook. Weaver and Cook are ticketed for starting jobs under new coach Gary Kubiak, who said Rosenfels will back up starter David Carr.
Givens ain't worth that much money. Walters is a decent WR. I guess Kubiak hopes he is the next Ed Mccaffrey. I still can't believe the Texans haven't signed a offensive lineman. They brought in 6 players on Saturday and signed all of them but 2 and they are O-linemans.
I think Kubiak wants veterans on the offensive line. Steve McKinney was re-signed, if you read between the lines, to play left guard. That means Chester Pitts starts at left tackle. They want to bring in Mike Flanagan to compete with Drew Hodgdon at center. The right side of the line is somewhat tougher to project. They did re-sign Fred Weary, perhaps only for depth. It seems like I recall reading somewhere about Wiegert playing either right guard or tackle, so we can perhaps pencil him in. The real question is about Todd Wade. Is he going to be healthy? Does he even fit in with what Kubiak wants to do? He is tough to cut outright because of his hefty contract. I would say Seth Wand comes into play here, but he is RFA and received the minimum tender from the Texans, though that does not necessarrily mean that the Texans don't want him back because he would still cost the team who signed him a 3rd round draft pick. So, I would look for any combination of Weary, Wiegert, Wade, a draft choice(s) (Winston?, Colledge?, Boothe? etc.) and perhaps Wand to make up the right side of the Texans line. Sure the pass protection was beyond bad but that had a great deal to do with the coaching and schemes. With Kubiak/Sherman/Calhoun on board I look at that as a major upgrade already.
The Texans would be smart to add a possession receiver like Givens and let Johnson do his thing down the sidelines, but his asking price does seem a little steep and isn't likely to come down now that Randle El has already signed.
Update on Givens's visit w/ the Dolphins: Dolphins | Team makes no offer to Givens Sun, 12 Mar 2006 21:45:34 -0800 Harvey Fialkov, of the Sun-Sentinel, reports free agent WR David Givens (Patriots) had a good visit with the Miami Dolphins Saturday, March 11, but he was not offered a contract. "The visit with the Dolphins was perfect, except there was no offer," said Givens' agent, Brad Blank. "They seem preoccupied with their quarterback pursuits." We still might have a chance.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3719091.html Texans hold out hope for Givens WR unimpressed with team's offer of $18.5 million By JOHN MCCLAIN Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle The second day of free agency for the Texans was not as productive as the first, but it was just as busy. The Texans signed Cincinnati restricted free-agent wide receiver Kevin Walter to an offer sheet that the Bengals have one week to match, lost guard Milford Brown to Arizona, introduced three free-agent additions at a news conference and spent the afternoon with New England receiver David Givens. The Texans targeted Givens, the Humble native who earned two Super Bowl rings in his four seasons with the Patriots, as the offensive player they wanted the most. Givens was offered $18.5 million over five years, but he is going to Nashville, Tenn., today to meet with the Titans. If Tennessee come close to meeting his asking price of almost $25 million over five years, they will have the best chance of signing him. Because the Texans have signed defensive end Anthony Weaver (five years, $26.5 million, $12 million signing bonus), quarterback Sage Rosenfels (four years, $6.4 million, $2 million signing bonus), fullback Jameel Cook (five years, $5 million) and Walter (four years, $6.4 million), they are unable to offer close to $25 million for Givens. "Everything was going well at first, but things really didn't work out the way I thought they would," Givens said. "The door isn't closed yet. I'd still like to play here if it's the right opportunity." General manager Charley Casserly, coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun didn't try to hide their excitement over Givens coming to Houston on Sunday to meet with the staff. The coaches envisioned Givens as a big-play receiver who would start opposite Andre Johnson. While director of negotiations Dan Ferens continued to negotiate with Boston-based agent Brad Blank, Kubiak and Calhoun kept their fingers crossed Saturday when Givens was at Miami. Late Saturday night, the Texans said Blank informed them that Givens was staying with the Patriots. On Sunday morning, Givens kept his scheduled visit to Houston and said there had been some miscommunication Saturday night. "David's a good player and a class individual," Casserly said Sunday. "We had a great visit with him. We'd love to have him. We made him an offer, but they declined it." Meanwhile, Brown, who started 12 games last season, signed a four-year contract with Arizona. Coach Dennis Green plans for Brown to start at guard and help open holes for running back Edgerrin James, who agreed to a contract with the Cardinals on Sunday. The Texans are hoping that Cincinnati doesn't match their offer sheet to Walter, an up-and-coming receiver the Bengals don't want to lose. It's the Bengals' move Cincinnati has one week to match the offer. If they don't, they will get a seventh-round pick in next month's draft. "It's a weird situation not knowing what will happen," Walter said about the seven-day wait. "Knowing what the coaches want here, I think I can help them. This is the place I want to be." Walter, 24, is 6-3, 214. A three-year veteran from Eastern Michigan, he caught 19 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown last season. Those close to the Bengals believe they will want to match the offer because coach Marvin Lewis was impressed with Walter's improvement as a receiver last season. Chris Henry, a rookie who was impressive off the bench last season, had some off-the-field issues that might make keeping Walter a priority. Crowded field The Texans have Johnson and Jerome Mathis on the roster. Jabar Gaffney and Corey Bradford are unrestricted free agents. The team wants both players back, but it is not going to break the bank for them. "This is really an exciting time for us," Kubiak said at the news conference introducing Weaver, Rosenfels and Cook. "Charley and Dan have done a tremendous job." Next week, former Denver tight end Jeb Putzier will visit Houston. Kubiak is hoping to sign him, too.
No way Givens is worth that much. He's just an average NFL wide receiver. True he's better than anyone we have not named Andre Johnson, but I don't think he's worth anywhere near what he's asking.
