Owen Daniels Contract Negotiations

[John S]

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.

[nunusguy]

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 ?

[NBT]

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.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by NBT

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.

[HPF Bob]

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)

[nero THE zero]

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.

[nunusguy]

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.