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WORST 5 FA SIGNINGS
1) Todd Wade, OT (2005)
Todd Wade was signed from Miami in 2005 and was deemed the solution to the hole left by Tony Bosseli. He was young, talented, and proven himself as a starter. After a year with Seth Wand starting at LT, the Texans were beyond desperate and wanted a sure-fire starter at the position who could be relied upon for a long time. The front office thought he could help us so much, that Casserly gave him a 6 year, $30 million dollar contract putting him well into the top 10 highest paid OTs at the time. In fact, Eric Winston’s current contract is fairly comparable in numbers to what we gave Wade; a scary thought when considering the difference in talent level and how large contracts have become since then. While Casserly gave Wade a more than generous contract, Wade did not return the favor in any sense. His play made him one of the worst offensive linemen at the time which is incredibly disappointing as our O Line at the time was one of the worst in the NFL. He literally moved like a massive stone and was a huge liability in pass protection. As if that wasn’t enough, he spent a solid portion of his time with Houston injured (played in 22 of 32 possible games). After two years, Wade was let go and was replaced by the cheaper, better, and much funnier Ephraim Salaam. What makes Wade the most disappointing FA signing to me is that he was paid top 5 OT money and performed like he shouldn’t even be a starter in the league.
2) Anthony Weaver, DL (2006)
Oh Anthony Weaver. The first major signing in 2006 and one of the players who was going to help us turn around our defense regardless of what position he played. 3-4 DE, 4-3 DT; We paid him like he was talented enough to play any position on the DLine (in fact we somewhat expected it as well). Once we knew for sure we would run a 4-3 and added the amazing Mario Williams with the first overall pick, Weaver found out he would be a DE on run downs and a DT in nickel packages. It was a lot to ask, but he supposedly was talented enough to pull it off. After 3 seasons with Houston, it’s safe to say that it was too much to ask for him to play only one position. Weaver’s performance was never stellar or on par with what we expected, but the first season he was given some leeway because of the new system and lack of talent around him. After all he was supposedly our stud DL. However, after the 2007 and 2008 season when we kept adding talent on the DLine (Okoye) and saw players break out as well(Mario), Weaver’s performance stayed constantly on the low end. In fact, Weaver ended up with more interceptions in Houston than he did sacks. If that’s not sad enough, he had the same number of sacks in three seasons that Travis Johnson did: one. It’s obvious how much Weaver hurt us in the long run both performance based and with his contract. He was a horrible fit for our defense and was one of the worst signings Houston has ever made.
3) Ahman Green, RB (2007)
Once it was made aware that Domanick Davis’ (now Williams) career had been officially cut short due to a tragic knee injury, we needed to pick up a viable starter. Lucky for us, Gary Kubiak came from the famous zone blocking scheme offense that could make late round draft picks look like stars. While it’s possible Houston could have done just that in the draft, Smith and Kubiak decided to go with a more veteran approach and signed Ahman Green. He would be re-united with his former coach Mike Sherman and was given a gracious contract that anticipated him being the consistent RB we lacked the year before. Everything started off well as Green started off the season averaging over 4 YPC and had at least 70 yards each game. However, he was injured in game 3 and never fully recovered that season. The next offseason, Houston drafted Steve Slaton to reduce Green’s workload and be a change of pace back for him. However, the tables were turned when Green proved injury prone once again and Slaton became the workhorse RB. Green was released this past offseason and while he had mediocre success, the expectations and contract highly outweighed the lackluster performance he delivered while in Houston. He could have been a solid starter in our offense, but couldn’t stay out of the training room and was paid too much based on previous success.
4) Robaire Smith, DL (2005)
Robaire was an interesting player with Houston. He was just as highly regarded as Wade and Morlon Greenwood during the 2005 offseason class that was easily our most expensive. Smith was brought in to help an aging DLine that had Gary Walker and Seth Payne and was paid incredibly well (6 years, $26 million). He was thought to be the new star on the line, although expectations weren’t as high as they were for someone like Wade because Smith was more of a luxury than a severe dependency. However, without that pressure and urgency he seemed to just blend in along the D Line and bring mediocrity. Smith wasn’t incredibly horrible in Houston, but we needed a lot more than average. He stuck around for two seasons before getting cut and moving on. The ironic thing is that Casserly felt Smith was so talented that he actually tried Smith at FB during the 2005 pre-season (the first of many warning signs of the season to come). Smith doesn’t land higher on the list because he actually played 2 seasons and was decent. However, he still was a disappointment and was incredibly over-paid like everyone on this list. Had he been injured, he definitely would have ended up higher on the list.
5) Rosevelt Colvin, LB (2008)
Colvin is more of a less remembered bad signing which has everything to do with how short of a tenure he had in Houston. The team wanted to get another pass rusher opposite Mario Williams and saw Colvin as the ideal 3rd down rusher to pair with him. He was signed just before training camp and was given special attention so he could catch up and make the switch from 3-4 OLB to 4-3 DE sooner rather than later. Because of his age, Colvin wasn’t given a monster or lengthy contract. Compared to the other contracts on this list, Colvin’s seems like it was meant for an AFL player. However, Colvin rounds out the list because it was completely guaranteed and he didn’t even make the team. He lasted only a few months before getting cut because of incredibly poor performance. What makes it so bad too is the fact that he couldn’t beat out such easy competition like Tim Bulman and Earl Cochran; 2 players that had struggled to make NFL rosters before landing in Houston. If Colvin would have played half the season and underperformed, he might have made it as an honorable mention (even with poor performances). But the fact that Houston basically gave him $1 million just to “try out” in the sense is what makes this a bad signing.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jordan Black, OL; Victor Riley, OL
1) Todd Wade, OT (2005)
Todd Wade was signed from Miami in 2005 and was deemed the solution to the hole left by Tony Bosseli. He was young, talented, and proven himself as a starter. After a year with Seth Wand starting at LT, the Texans were beyond desperate and wanted a sure-fire starter at the position who could be relied upon for a long time. The front office thought he could help us so much, that Casserly gave him a 6 year, $30 million dollar contract putting him well into the top 10 highest paid OTs at the time. In fact, Eric Winston’s current contract is fairly comparable in numbers to what we gave Wade; a scary thought when considering the difference in talent level and how large contracts have become since then. While Casserly gave Wade a more than generous contract, Wade did not return the favor in any sense. His play made him one of the worst offensive linemen at the time which is incredibly disappointing as our O Line at the time was one of the worst in the NFL. He literally moved like a massive stone and was a huge liability in pass protection. As if that wasn’t enough, he spent a solid portion of his time with Houston injured (played in 22 of 32 possible games). After two years, Wade was let go and was replaced by the cheaper, better, and much funnier Ephraim Salaam. What makes Wade the most disappointing FA signing to me is that he was paid top 5 OT money and performed like he shouldn’t even be a starter in the league.
2) Anthony Weaver, DL (2006)
Oh Anthony Weaver. The first major signing in 2006 and one of the players who was going to help us turn around our defense regardless of what position he played. 3-4 DE, 4-3 DT; We paid him like he was talented enough to play any position on the DLine (in fact we somewhat expected it as well). Once we knew for sure we would run a 4-3 and added the amazing Mario Williams with the first overall pick, Weaver found out he would be a DE on run downs and a DT in nickel packages. It was a lot to ask, but he supposedly was talented enough to pull it off. After 3 seasons with Houston, it’s safe to say that it was too much to ask for him to play only one position. Weaver’s performance was never stellar or on par with what we expected, but the first season he was given some leeway because of the new system and lack of talent around him. After all he was supposedly our stud DL. However, after the 2007 and 2008 season when we kept adding talent on the DLine (Okoye) and saw players break out as well(Mario), Weaver’s performance stayed constantly on the low end. In fact, Weaver ended up with more interceptions in Houston than he did sacks. If that’s not sad enough, he had the same number of sacks in three seasons that Travis Johnson did: one. It’s obvious how much Weaver hurt us in the long run both performance based and with his contract. He was a horrible fit for our defense and was one of the worst signings Houston has ever made.
3) Ahman Green, RB (2007)
Once it was made aware that Domanick Davis’ (now Williams) career had been officially cut short due to a tragic knee injury, we needed to pick up a viable starter. Lucky for us, Gary Kubiak came from the famous zone blocking scheme offense that could make late round draft picks look like stars. While it’s possible Houston could have done just that in the draft, Smith and Kubiak decided to go with a more veteran approach and signed Ahman Green. He would be re-united with his former coach Mike Sherman and was given a gracious contract that anticipated him being the consistent RB we lacked the year before. Everything started off well as Green started off the season averaging over 4 YPC and had at least 70 yards each game. However, he was injured in game 3 and never fully recovered that season. The next offseason, Houston drafted Steve Slaton to reduce Green’s workload and be a change of pace back for him. However, the tables were turned when Green proved injury prone once again and Slaton became the workhorse RB. Green was released this past offseason and while he had mediocre success, the expectations and contract highly outweighed the lackluster performance he delivered while in Houston. He could have been a solid starter in our offense, but couldn’t stay out of the training room and was paid too much based on previous success.
4) Robaire Smith, DL (2005)
Robaire was an interesting player with Houston. He was just as highly regarded as Wade and Morlon Greenwood during the 2005 offseason class that was easily our most expensive. Smith was brought in to help an aging DLine that had Gary Walker and Seth Payne and was paid incredibly well (6 years, $26 million). He was thought to be the new star on the line, although expectations weren’t as high as they were for someone like Wade because Smith was more of a luxury than a severe dependency. However, without that pressure and urgency he seemed to just blend in along the D Line and bring mediocrity. Smith wasn’t incredibly horrible in Houston, but we needed a lot more than average. He stuck around for two seasons before getting cut and moving on. The ironic thing is that Casserly felt Smith was so talented that he actually tried Smith at FB during the 2005 pre-season (the first of many warning signs of the season to come). Smith doesn’t land higher on the list because he actually played 2 seasons and was decent. However, he still was a disappointment and was incredibly over-paid like everyone on this list. Had he been injured, he definitely would have ended up higher on the list.
5) Rosevelt Colvin, LB (2008)
Colvin is more of a less remembered bad signing which has everything to do with how short of a tenure he had in Houston. The team wanted to get another pass rusher opposite Mario Williams and saw Colvin as the ideal 3rd down rusher to pair with him. He was signed just before training camp and was given special attention so he could catch up and make the switch from 3-4 OLB to 4-3 DE sooner rather than later. Because of his age, Colvin wasn’t given a monster or lengthy contract. Compared to the other contracts on this list, Colvin’s seems like it was meant for an AFL player. However, Colvin rounds out the list because it was completely guaranteed and he didn’t even make the team. He lasted only a few months before getting cut because of incredibly poor performance. What makes it so bad too is the fact that he couldn’t beat out such easy competition like Tim Bulman and Earl Cochran; 2 players that had struggled to make NFL rosters before landing in Houston. If Colvin would have played half the season and underperformed, he might have made it as an honorable mention (even with poor performances). But the fact that Houston basically gave him $1 million just to “try out” in the sense is what makes this a bad signing.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jordan Black, OL; Victor Riley, OL
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I'd almost forgotten about Flabbygan. That dude was a blubbery shell of what he was in Green Bay when he came here.
