that's just the way negotiations go. I was simply pointing out that I didn't realize how productive Winslow was when he was on the field. His attitude coming out of college and the whole motorcycle thing got him a bad reputation, and was probably tainting my opinion of him as a player.

I am too. I don't think this offense is so good that we can just pick any TE and plug and play so to speak. I think OD would be much harder to replace than people to realize. That being said if he demands a Winslow like contract then we are probably better off letting him go. I think it would hurt the team a great deal, but not as much as the possible salary cap problems probably would in the long run. We still have no idea what's going to happen when the owners and the NFLPA sit down and negotiate. That makes this that much harder.

I don't see Schaub's contract as a big problem. They will renegotiate, but it will be more of a shuffling things around for cap purposes (if there is one)with a little extra thrown on top. I could be wrong, but I just don't see that being a big issue when we get there.

I personally think Owen Daniels is a MUST. He's imperative to the offense. So often, I've seen him come up huge (despite some stupid fumbles on his part) when there was nothing else open. He's Schaub's security blanket, especially as mobile as he is and especially in the offense we run.

sounds like OD wants a Killen Winslow type deal, 6 years, 36 mil, 20 mil guanranteed, 42 mil with incentives. sounds steep, Tampa messed up the whole league pay structure for TE. I doubt OD is worth that much, even though he may be quite good and valuable to Texans. Good for OD coming to voluntary workouts. Hope they find a happy medium and he stays a Texan.

6 years,

$24M with $16M guaranteed. Anything more than that is $tupid.

Does it matter that OD is technically the 3rd QB on the roster on game day and he knows it?

There was a snippet last season, maybe the one before, where OD talked about Kubiak telling him that if Sage went down he was taking the snaps.

I know he doesnt take any practice snaps, not that we see anyway, but that doesnt mean that he and the team dont know who is comming in.

I am actually pretty suprised we havent seen any trick plays with OD given his QB background.

You mean like when the Texans messed up the whole league pay structure for non-OLTs way back in 2004 when they coughed-up 10 M guaranteed for a very ordinary (at best) RT named Todd Wade ?
How does that go - what goes around comes around ?

I'm not too worried about the team forking over a huge contract like some. I think the negotiations between Dunta and Demeco are pretty good evidence that the team is not going to cave and overpay just because a player is a favorite. If Owen has ridiculous expectations and demands for his new contract, I'm sure they will let him walk. But I don't expect Daniels will demand a Winslow type contract.

I don't think the Texans should pay him stupid money like Winslow got, but i do think you have to pay him in the top 5 TE range. I feel that he is one of the 5 best TEs in the League. He is just hitting his prime so they should lock him up.

Here's my question: does OD have any significant leverage left for negotiating a new contract after the Texans took not one but 2 TEs in the Draft, especially the second guy James Casey ?
And while Anthony Hill may be primarily a blocking TE who is a replacement for the retired Breuner, on the face of it Casey looks to be a virtual clone of OD. He's the same size in height & weight and I suspect their combine/Pro- Day measurerables are very comparable ? And like OD he's very athletic with excellent hands.
I dunno but I'll bet OD was in near shock after he heard about the second TE picked in the Draft ? And if anybody (like the Bills who reportedly were interested in OD) comes to them now with an attractive trade offer including a high 2010 Draft pick how seriously do Smith/Kubiak consider such a deal ?

I think that if buffalo comes with a deal for OD, it needs to be seriously considered. On the other hand, OD has been such a cog in our offense, that it would take a very high draft choice and maybe another vet to make the deal work for us. I still think OD will be a Texan this year.

I'm thinking John Wendling, Xavier Omon, and a 3rd round pick.

I think if the Texans are going to pay big money for a TE, they'd prefer one who fumbles less.

(Six coughed up over the past two seasons)

I think Casey is just insurance. There's so much in the air right now with the CBA negotiations that there's no way to be certain what contractual role Daniels will fall under after this season. Will he be an UFA? Will he be a RFA again?

You don't want to deal a proven, pro-bowl veteran and replace him with a rookie. So, you draft Casey, let him learn the system for a year, let the CBA drama play itself out, and make your decision next off-season.

I think TEs are like running backs in the Kubiak offense, they're almost a dime a dozen but not quite. They are tweeners, too small to be a traditional TE and too slow to be a WR and therefor there aren't many systems in the NFL that guys like OD can succeed at, let alone star. I think Joel Dressen or the rookie Casey can step up and play TE for Kubiak.
I like OD, he's a hard worker, a solid team player, and reasonably talented football player but we're not talking Andre Johnson here, he's certainly expendable IMO. If we could get anything like a 2nd round pick for him I say jump on it before the other team has a chance to reconsider.

...........Another yes but - OD was our second leading receiver last year!

I think the TE position is crucial to this offense. Whether or not OD is the reason for that or it is all scheme is hard for me to say, and I guess we have to trust Kubiak and Smith on how easy that position is to fill. I see OD's success the last few years as a major reason our offense has been relatively effective.

I find it pretty easy to trust Kubiak and Smith. They get an A from me so far.

FWIW Bob Allen reported yesterday on local Channel 13 (ABC), that a Texans "source" told him contract negotiations with ODs agent are now very active. I'll be very surprised if they work out a new deal with OD before they do with DeMeco, whos signing to me is clearly the higher priority.

Doesn't matter which one is the higher priority. They still need to sign both. OD's contract may be easier to work out since he may not have as much negotiating leverage, or, it may just be a matter that the two sides have been closer coming to an agreement than the Texans and DeMeco have been.