At least we have him for another year. Reeves can cover, but doesn't play the ball. From what the other players say, Molden will be something special.
Awesome news. Dunta is the leader of that D and it's good to have him back. But its good that we can watch that leg of his for a bit more before we sign him for long-term kind of money.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/sports/090219_robinson_not_happy_with_texans Robinson Not Happy with Texans HOUSTON - Houston Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson knows he is blessed to be making nearly $10 million dollars for one year, especially in these hard economic times, but he is not happy with the way team management handled things. The Texans placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Robinson which means he can still get offers from others teams. However, the Texans have the right to match or they could let him go and receive two number one draft picks. In other words, there's almost no chance Robinson would be able to cut a deal with another team. The one-year franchise tag means Robinson, whose original four-year contract expired after the 2008 season, will make about $9.96 million for one year. "I am a little frustrated because I was under the impression the tag was out of the question and it totally caught me by surprise," Robinson said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. "I didn't understand it, especially being told that I wouldn't be tagged. "You're going back on your word and that's the only thing that frustrated me about the situation. I would have liked to have gotten a long-term deal done, be a Texan for a long time. Next year around this time I will be in the same situation." Robinson understands that he is so much more fortunate than millions of others around the country because of these difficult economic times. "It's a blessing to sign a one-year deal for almost $10 million," Robinson said. "I won't sit here and say I am upset about that. "There are people across this country that don't even have a job and here I am being offered almost $10 million for one year. It kind of puts things in perspective for me. "The only thing I am upset about is the fact that I was told one thing and something else was done." Robinson said he is coming to terms with the situation. "I'm living with it," Robinson said. "I use a lot of things for motivation. I couldn't get what I asked for, that's motivation. "My only thing to the Texans is, if you think you had a problem with me going through this year, just imagine the problem you are going to have when I get an entire year on the field. It's going to be an even bigger problem next season. "And I wanted to be a Texan. So I was willing to take less than my market value and apparently even that was too much." Robinson said he is not sure if he will take part in the Texans organized training activities and mini-camp later this year which means he might not rejoin the Texans until training camp. He also wasn't sure if he will be willing to try and negotiate a multi-year deal at a later date. Robinson did not play until the sixth game of the season in 2008 after suffering leg, knee, and hamstring injuries in 2007. He played in eleven games last season, starting the final six. Robinson intercepted two passes in 2008, giving him 13 for his career, which is a Texans franchise record.
D-Rob is still pure class even when upset, hopefully he'll play well next season and get the long-term deal/money that he wants.
Dunta's right in that it can be an even bigger problem (more money the Texans have to spend) if he plays next year healthy and gets market value. But if he plays good next season thats still good for the Texans. No way they were gonna take a chance on IF he can play at an elite level.
Why would Dunta and his agent believe the Texans when they said they wouldn't franchise tag him? Seems kinda naive to think. The Texans are going to do what's best for the Texans. If they can't come to a long term contract again next year, the Texans will probably franchise tag him again, assuming he still plays at a high level.
I'm hoping we can get a long term deal going before the season starts. I don't want this to turn into a holdout. I also would hate for him to have an awesome season next year and we end up losing out. He was meant to be close to 80% or so when he returned and looked great. It seems like he's recovering fine from the injury.
My guess is that he was told "We won't franchise you if we come to an agreement by X date," and all Dunta heard was "We won't franchise you."
I'm not sure the tag can be used consecutively on the same player. I've never heard anything about it, but I've also never seen it done. If that were the case, a team could technically be getting a bargain price over the long term for a player if he is one of the best at his position and deserving of being the highest paid player at his position (since the tag averages the top 5 salaries at each postion). Say Andre Johnson's contract was up. He's obviously deserving of being at least equal to the highest paid WR in the league. If we could just franchise him every year we'd actually avoid paying him what he is worth. I'm sure there is something in the CBA preventing this.
Hopefully DRob and management can come to an agreement that is beneficiul to everyone before the season starts. I like having Dunta but I understand their concern with his knee, he really blew the hell out of it but still looked pretty good in his return so hopefully he is ok.
The Ravens franchised Terrell Suggs for the 2nd consecutive year this week. I believe the player and the agent can propose incentives in the new 1 year contract that if the player meets certain criterias in the next season (playing minutes, pro bowl, all-pro, etc.), then the team cannot franchise him again. But the team has to agree with that also, making sure the criterias are substantial. He needs to be mad at his agent then if that's the case. Either way, he assumed too much going into this. Dunta needs to lookout for Dunta, cause the Texans will lookout for the Texans.
Dunta needs to stop complaining as if this one year deal is absolute final. He can still negotiate right now! All this does is protect the Texans from losing him. He can still get the long term deal from the Texans that he claims he wants to get.
a player can only be franchised twice. that's why haynesworth is a free agent this year - tennessee tagged him the two years prior. i believe suggs just got slapped a second time this year. it's not good business to franchise a guy consecutively - it all but ensures the player will leave because he's not going to like having his guarantees put on hold (and risked) for two more years. i think dunta's case was pretty unique, though - he wasn't 100% last year and we need another full year to determine if he'll ever will be 100% again (and thus, worth the investment). so the tag buys us that luxury and was a smart, necessary move if the plan is to hold on to him long-term, pending health. at the same time, dunta may have made a mistake by turning down whatever the texans were offering. if they did indeed offer $18-20M guaranteed... that might end up looking good if the injury turns out to indeed be a hindrance again next year, more or less derailing his value completely.
except... they no longer have any incentive to do that right now (in theory). and that puts dunta - and his potential huge, guaranteed payday - at risk. if he proves not healthy or has a similiar, career-derailing injury this year.... sure, he gets his $9M - but that's it. a longer-term deal guarantees him, you know, $20+M. i can see why players hate the franchise tag.
Dunta plays his heart out there! I really like this guy and is easy top 5 cornerbacks in the NFL! The injury slowed him down a bit but he should be fully 100% this season coming up.
A top five corner??? No way. He's a good corner WHEN healthy, but no way a top five. He's never been an All-Pro or Pro Bowl either. These guys are much better: Charles Woodson, Ronde Barber, Asante Samuel, Antoine Winfield, Cortland Finnegan, Nnamdi Asomugha, Terrance Newman.
This is where I am. This year we can see how he is playing and offer him a new contract mid-season. It isn't like he is making the NFL minimum, so not sure why the hell he is so upset.
Well top 5 in my eyes, top 8 in your eyes... He is only 5'10, 185 pounds and only been playing 5 yrs. He has really good coverage and his tackling skills are amazing. He will be a pro bowler, Trust! Your probably to busy watching the Dallas Cowgirls choke.
