WR Kevin Walter Re-Signs

Keith · #1 03-05-2010, 07:45 PM

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...t/6898618.html

I guess the news of the Ravens trading for Anquan Boldin helped pave the way for Walter's return to the Texans.

Quote:

After wide receiver Kevin Walter agreed to terms on a new contract with the Texans, it was difficult to tell who was more excited — him or coach Gary Kubiak.

"I'm glad it worked out this way because this is where I wanted to be," Walter said after agreeing to a multiyear, multimillion dollar contract with the Texans. "We're a team on the rise. I want to have a great year to help us get where we want to go."

When Kubiak learned Walter would be back, he said, "You can't have enough Kevin Walters on your team. He stands for everything we are. He's a great kid, a hard worker, a player who does everything right on and off the field. "It's important that he's back with us because he's a big part of what we do."

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/spor...-retain-walter

Initial reports say this is a 5-year deal, and I've heard around $21.5 million... need to lock down more details on bonus and guarantees though.

edit - $8 million guaranteed? per McClain via Twitter

Blitzwood · #2 03-05-2010, 07:58 PM

Great news!!

Hope O.D. and Ryans agree to a long term deal, too.

edo783 · #3 03-05-2010, 08:17 PM

Excellent! (think creepy dude from Simpson's)

NBT · #4 03-05-2010, 09:37 PM

I'm really glad we resigned that 'Ol slow white boy.

nunusguy · #5 03-05-2010, 09:48 PM

Very good news - let's keep that offense together and just add to what we got this year to make it even better.

TheMatrix31 · #6 03-05-2010, 10:07 PM

So glad we re-upped him. A big part of our team, despite the "quiet" season he had last year.

Mike · #7 03-06-2010, 08:44 AM

This is good news. I think KW was slowed by his injury and was not the same player last year. 8MM guaranteed is not a ton of $ for a second receiver. I was not ready to hand over the #2 spot to JJ just yet. Glad the Texans took care of one of their own players. Next up, #59.

HPF Bob · #8 03-06-2010, 06:30 PM

Personally, I'm disappointed. I think we can do better than KW and we have three guys in reserve who ought to see the ball more often than they have.

As always with the NFL, the real issue is how much money is guaranteed.

I'd rather see us getting Demeco under contract before moving on to anyone else.

Bigtinylittle · #9 03-06-2010, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Personally, I'm disappointed. I think we can do better than KW and we have three guys in reserve who ought to see the ball more often than they have.

As always with the NFL, the real issue is how much money is guaranteed.

I'd rather see us getting Demeco under contract before moving on to anyone else.

I agree about the quarantee thing. Big payouts for non-productive players can really strap a team (Think David Carr). But I also think that if KW stays healthy he'll get the whole 21 mil.

Keith · #10 03-06-2010, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Personally, I'm disappointed. I think we can do better than KW and we have three guys in reserve who ought to see the ball more often than they have.

Walter is a fine #2 so long as the defense respects him enough to keep Andre Johnson from getting triple covered. I like not handing the #2 job to Jacoby Jones, let him beat Walter for it. Plus this makes Jones tasty trade bait if the Texans were to allow him to dangle a bit out there. Jones is entering the fourth and final year on his contract.

btw, Andre Davis has 2010 and 2011 left on his deal that paid him a $3.5 million signing bonus, and his $4.7 million base salary next year means he won't be here, at least not at that number. And David Anderson's deal looks cheap in comparison, the 3-yr deal signed last year which included a $1 million signing bonus.

TheMatrix31 · #11 03-07-2010, 04:40 AM

We could have definitely utilized Andre Davis and Kevin Walter more this past year. Hopefully we get them involved next season.

barrett · #12 03-07-2010, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Personally, I'm disappointed. I think we can do better than KW and we have three guys in reserve who ought to see the ball more often than they have.

As always with the NFL, the real issue is how much money is guaranteed.

I'd rather see us getting Demeco under contract before moving on to anyone else.

It's a good problem to have guys who should see the ball more often.

And it's a poor complaint when a reasonable signing gets done for a player who has obviously contributed and you complain about his backups not getting the ball more.

Arky · #13 03-07-2010, 08:16 PM

I'm OK with the signing. Walter has got good hands and blocks well. Thankfully, most all of our receivers have good hands.... It really sucks when you got a couple of guys that can't catch.... I believe the Texans were in the top 10 in NOT dropping passes....

My only other concern is the semi-fat contract... So many times it seems when a guy gets the big payday, seems like they immediately have a down year before getting back to "normal"....

Roy P · #14 03-07-2010, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arky

I'm OK with the signing...

We have plenty of slots that need filling and we could probably get Marcus Easley in the 5th round to do the things that Kevin Walter does. He'd be able to run the reverse probably better

That being said, it often takes 3 years before a WR gets his best season in the NFL. We can use that draft pick on another need instead. Since it's not my money and we aren't going to have a Cap, then I'm OK with the signing too.

barrett · #15 03-07-2010, 09:09 PM

The contract is right in line with what he should be paid. In fact, I think the Texans got him a little less then what would have been market value. We were fortunate that his main suitor (ravens) picked up Boldin and dropped out of the bidding. Plus he got less then Burleson despite being more productive as a WR and doing more of the little things (blocking).

As for Marcus Easley doing the same thing, that's about a 1% chance. Notice that a number of teams were immediately interested in Walter with a multi-year, multi-million dollas price tag. Teams don't line up to pay money to guys who can be replaced with younger and cheaper options. That's why there are dozens of vets around the league that will remain unemployed until after the draft. And yet Walter was sought after on day one.

Roy P · #16 03-07-2010, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrett

The contract is right in line with what he should be paid.

As for Marcus Easley doing the same thing, that's about a 1% chance.

2009 Austin Collie
2008 Pierre Garcon
2007 Steve Breaston
2006 Brandon Marshall

Now, you make a good point that the odds are low to find a solid WR in the 4th round or later. However, I just wanted to point out that it can be done. Production can be found with late round WRs, especially if they are on the receiving end of pretty good QBs.

barrett · #17 03-07-2010, 09:41 PM

How many WRs total were drafted in rounds 4-7 and signed as UDFAs those years?

That is why I said it was about a %1 chance instead of saying no way. Because obviously you can hit on those picks. But you could hit on those same picks at any position. I bet you could make an all-star team out of guys at every position taken in round 4 and lower in the last 4 years, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't sign good players to good contracts and should instead rely on hitting on low round picks.

I'd rather do both. Draft the best guys we can find in those rounds, and if they beat a vet out of a job, that's great. But Walter can play on that contract for the next 3+ years even if we find a gem who makes him the #3 WR, and the money would not be a big hit for us since the contract is reasonable.

Roy P · #18 03-07-2010, 09:50 PM

I'm not saying that we shouldn't have signed Walter. It allows us the opportunity to look for players to fill other holes. The money spent on Free Agents is the "sure thing" cost. The Texans "know" what they are getting with KW. He's been in the system and has worked with these coaches. The position could be filled by cheaper and younger, but as you point out, it takes some luck and hard work. I am saying that finding a guy to play opposite of Andre Johnson is a lot easier than finding the next Andre Johnson.

barrett · #19 03-07-2010, 11:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy P

I'm not saying that we shouldn't have signed Walter. It allows us the opportunity to look for players to fill other holes. The money spent on Free Agents is the "sure thing" cost. The Texans "know" what they are getting with KW. He's been in the system and has worked with these coaches. The position could be filled by cheaper and younger, but as you point out, it takes some luck and hard work. I am saying that finding a guy to play opposite of Andre Johnson is a lot easier than finding the next Andre Johnson.

Very true. That is why if the Ravens had remained in the game and the bidding on KW had gone much higher, I would have been ok with seeing him walk. He is not so good that I would overspend on him. But he is not so interchangeable or such a "system" guy that I think it would be easy to replace him.

Joshua · #20 03-08-2010, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy P

We have plenty of slots that need filling and we could probably get Marcus Easley in the 5th round to do the things that Kevin Walter does. He'd be able to run the reverse probably better

That being said, it often takes 3 years before a WR gets his best season in the NFL. We can use that draft pick on another need instead. Since it's not my money and we aren't going to have a Cap, then I'm OK with the signing too.

I get what you're saying and there's no doubt that ideally we will bolster our team through the draft. However, if it's this easy to pick up quality starters in the late rounds of the draft, all I can say is, what are we waiting for? By my count, out of 14 draft picks in rounds 4 or lower since Rick Smith took over, we have a total of 2 guys who you would pencil in as starters (Diles and Quin). Even these 2 have questions. Diles could certainly be upgraded and Quin's body of work is still too small to really know what you got. IMO, expecting quality starters out of these rounds (particularly from the get-go) just isn't terribly reasonable.