March 23, 2014
Schaub Out, Fitzpatrick In
by Bob Hulsey

In what has been a very quiet offseason, the Houston Texans did what most anticipated they would do - jettison quarterback Matt Schaub. Yet they made as much lemonade as they could out of it by trading the veteran signal-caller to Oakland for a sixth-round draft choice, freeing up salary cap room that may lead to other signings later in the spring.

To fill the void, Houston signed 31-year-old veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick who spent last season with the Tennessee Titans. Last year, he engineered a 16-10 win over Houston in Week 17. Texan watchers with long memories might also recall how, as a rookie from Harvard, Fitzpatrick made his NFL debut with a 310-yd comeback victory over the Texans back in 2005 while playing for the Rams. He also lost to Houston as a member of the Bengals and Bills during his career.

The bearded Fitzpatrick, however, may just be the placeholder and mentor for whomever the Texans select with the first overall choice in the May 8th college draft. It seems Central Florida's Blake Bortles has caught the fancy of Houston coaches, seemingly pushing himself ahead of Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater and Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel. Many mock drafts believe Bortles is the pick.

Caution should be used, though, as NFL teams often disguise their intentions this time of year. The Texans have shown interest in defensive end Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina and indicated they could trade down for the right offer.

General Manager Rick Smith allowed all the team's free agents to test the market and also cut veteran tight end Owen Daniels and defensive back Brice McCain to free up room under the salary cap. Among those signing elsewhere were DTs Antonio Smith and Earl Mitchell, LBs Joe Mays and Bryan Braman and RB Ben Tate.

TE Garrett Graham was among the departures, but he was quickly re-signed by Smith after Daniels was released. The defense has also added DT Jerrell Powe and FS Kendrick Lewis. Both played under new Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel in Kansas City.

More free agent signings are likely to come, but they may lack the sizzle of some of the names seen creating headlines around the NFL.

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