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Houston Texans 2017 2nd round pick, Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt

beerlover said:
Does make a nice duo w/McKinney who Texans traded up to get a couple drafts ago in the second round. Cunningham has a much higher ceiling too. This really sets up Texan inside LB position for years to come. Maybe next they can apply same priority to the offensive line?
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UM....you do realize the Texans have 2 1st round Tackles, a 2nd round LG, 2nd round Center starting on the Oline? Zach Fulton is a former 6 round pick. The line is set at 4 of the 5 positions. Only one that could be upgraded is Fulton at RG. He can play well if he is healthy.
 
badboy said:
Obrien said he wanted to keep Cunningham and got his way. Based on other deals I expect his 23.5 GTD will be mostly in his first two seasons which does not leave much for Watson's desire for short year extension with the expected lowered cap in 21.
Most projections I've seen on three year new money at $40 m minimum per year for Dashaun. 23 space now with half to Cunningham leaves same to add to #4 this season plus four million gives total of approx. 16 to Watson. It gets much worse next year.

Guess it can be done but either a Mahommes type deal for longer duration or someone has to go.
Fuller 10, Stills and BMac at 7 each. As much as I advocate trading Fuller, I don't see him or to lesser extent Stills being traded. Obrien needs to give Watson best possible means to take Houston deeper into PO. That means targets. McKinney offers 7 but that does not seem enough.

JJ Watt 15 m might be only deal that can be reworked to add some cap and there us Fuller's 10. Would that be smart with the health issues of both? If yes, does that open David Johnson to a rework?
Interested in thoughts/suggestions.
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You do realize a Watson extension would not kick in until 2022?
 
steelbtexan said:
Why wouldn't it kick in in 2021?
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He's on a 4 year contract with a team option for a 5th. Many times extensions absorb most of the current contract year(s) into the new signing bonus which then gets prorated over the life of the new deal. Players like it because it gives them a lot of cash upfront and teams like it if it reduces that year's cap number.
 
Mr.Scarface said:
You do realize a Watson extension would not kick in until 2022?
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I would expect team to use 2020 to spread GTD $ over. He only counts 4.4 against cap and Texans must want all Guaranteed paid as soon as possible. 2021 is 5th year option and Watson's agent should want to eliminate it to bring Dashaun back to free agency ASAP. If so 3 year extension would begin 2021 not 22. That's why I alluded to cap diminishing in 2021. Something has to give somewhere, perhaps he will agree to keep 21 as fifth year option. If he does, Cal should invite him over for some of mama's home cooking. It would be a financially unwise move but good for team.
 
I'm sure some are sad. Personally I was never much of a fan of him chasing down someone for a tackle after a 15 yard gain. Definitely wasn't a fan of the extension either. A couple more releases/trades to go including the preacher man then we can start the actual rebuild. I know things can turn around pretty quick in the NFL but this looks like a multi-year rebuild for sure. Looks like 'lil Tommy Boy Cal McNair has finally done what his daddy never did and ended the sellout streak and absolutely destroyed fan enthusiasm.
 
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Time for another File Clerk FUBAR BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH.

Another File Clerk restructured contract bites the dust. If you don't think it can get any worse, wait a few minutes. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

Now, the team has an additional $12.8M dead cap hit next year. BWWAAHHAHAAHA. $50MM in 2022 dead cap and counting. That's 25% of the salary cap. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
 
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Cunningham did not fit well with the 4-3 Tampa 2 system brought in by new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith for 2021. Cunningham’s snaps continued to drop as the season progressed. Cunningham did see more time on the field during the injury of Christian Kirksey, only to be inactive upon the return of Kirksey.

Cunningham reportedly missed a COVID test prior to the Indianapolis game which led to his inactive status. There has been continued frustration between Cunningham and the organization dating back to training camp. To make matters worse, GM Caserio completed a maximum contract restructure in March to free up 2021 cap dollars for additional free agent acquisitions.

The Texans attempted to trade Cunningham multiple times both during preseason and leading up to the trade deadline during the season. The team could not find any takers. The animosity between the two sides came to a head today with the release.
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Texian said:
Not sure anyone was going to trade for that contract.?.
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Maybe. But it wasn't guaranteed money, so a restructure would have been possible. Why not try? Caserio traded picks for guys I thought were untradable (Miller, Cannon). Maybe there's another Caserio out there?

At least guys know how to get out of Houston, now. Miss some COVID tests, be late for a meeting...get your walking papers. Nothing another NFL team is going to worry much about. Everyone realizes it's just about getting out of this dumpster fire.
 
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thunderkyss said:
Yeah. They probably got a good feel for the market at the trade deadline
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Could have done it during the off-season a la Roby (by eating most, if not all - the guaranteed portion of the contract.)
They're likely to get a low round pick.
This way, they just kept a player that they deem not to be a good soldier.
Can never be good for whatever it is they call culture.
 
Mr teX said:
Not impressed with this kid at all & i'm trying to see what everyone else sees. I know they got him for his coverage abilities, but if he's gonna be on the field for 3 downs, i'd like to see him tackling a bit better. Saw too much arm tackling...lunging & over extending himself; to me that's not sideline to sideline ability like some here are saying. rbs, TE's and many WR's are gonna run thru that on the next level. I'd like to see him get there & actually be able to square up & deliver the blow. Looks like an awesome special teamer to me.
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My post on the drafting of Cunningham in 2017. Aged pretty well i think so you know i'm over the moon with them waiving him. He'll likely bounce around the league with a few more teams for a couple more years before he eventually is put out.
 
76Texan said:
Could have done it during the off-season a la Roby (by eating most, if not all - the guaranteed portion of the contract.)
They're likely to get a low round pick.
This way, they just kept a player that they deem not to be a good soldier.
Can never be good for whatever it is they call culture.
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Or........ maybe they wanted to see if he as a still relatively young guy could make the transition to Lovie's scheme. There was no harm in that. If he could've, you've got him locked up for a while..if not, get rid of him and not really get hit too bad with how NC restructured his deal.
 
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Mr teX said:
Or........ maybe they wanted to see if he as a still relatively young guy could make the transition to Lovie's scheme. There was relatively no harm in seeing if he could become apart of this team's future. If he could've, you've got him locked up for a while..if not, get rid of him and not really get hit too bad with how NC restructured his deal.
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Fair enough, but it’s not like they have better quality to replace him with either.

Feels like another fire sale move, with the added cap hit as a bonus.
 
Zach was half assing it most of the time on the field. So many times I caught myself yelling for him to actually try or run to the ball. He did not want to play here and got his wish. Would have been nice to get a Roby like trade, but his contract BOB/Easterby put together was an Albatross
 
Mr teX said:
Or........ maybe they wanted to see if he as a still relatively young guy could make the transition to Lovie's scheme. There was relatively no harm in seeing if he could become apart of this team's future. If he could've, you've got him locked up for a while..if not, get rid of him and not really get hit too bad with how NC restructured his deal.
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The thing is, according to CNND and a couple of other sources, the Texans saw Cunningham as a bad soldier.
Why wait until now?
 
76Texan said:
The thing is, according to CNND and a couple of other sources, the Texans saw Cunningham as a bad soldier.
Why wait until now?
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If you read the PFF article it says they tried to trade the dude and got no offers. But aside from that, you try to give a guy a chance to get his bearings. But if the guy continuously shows that he's out of it, you do what you gotta do. Furthermore, we don't know when they started to see him as this "bad soldier".

Maybe he was ok..........that is until he started seeing his PT getting cut down.

Maybe he came in to camp salty b/c Caserio essentially forced him to restructure his deal or.....get his ass cut before the season start & he opted for the former rather than face being on the market late in the game and getting a shitty deal.

Maybe it just hit him that he wants out RIGHT NOW so he started acting like an ass to be released.

There are at least a few reasons why it could've happened at this time and not some time earlier. I just don't understand why you guys always think something had to have changed on the FO's side for this move to have happened when it did. The players have a very prominent part in all this too.
 
76Texan said:
I don't think I get that reference.
I tried Google and only the Chalupa song came up. 😀
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I misspelled it

Caloompa!

Oompa_Loompa_Gif_Complete_Smaller.gif


www.battleredblog.com

Jack Easterby and the Culture Factory

Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three...
www.battleredblog.com www.battleredblog.com
 
They restructured his contract btw, too this year. Not sure what the point of that was if they were going to let him go or trade him anyway.
 
Texian said:
Time for another File Clerk FUBAR BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH.

Another File Clerk restructured contract bites the dust. If you don't think it can get any worse, wait a few minutes. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

Now, the team has an additional $12.8M dead cap hit next year. BWWAAHHAHAAHA. $50MM in 2022 dead cap and counting. That's 25% of the salary cap. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
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I think we're now at over $35M in dead money next year against the 2022 cap...plus another $66M to cover Watson and Tunsil...such a nice running start into the offseason...
 
ArlingtonTexan said:
Seriously, you do know that an equal number of posters will send us a note saying why didn't you just tag on Zach's draft day thread.
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A Zach Cunningham draft thread has nothing to do with Zach Cunningham being cut. Just takes a little common sense. Sad that that message can't be passed along to those posters.
 
Lucky said:
Couldn't put Cunningham on the inactive list and trade him in the offseason? Give him the Watson treatment? Why was it absolutely necessary to waive Cunningham now?
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Lucky exactly. Man Caserio true colors are sticking out now. He's freaking clueless and power trips just like Obrien did.

Terrible hasty decisions
 
Honestly think Cunningham is a limited LB, who’s strengths don’t fit Lovie’s system, who is on a vastly over inflated contract.
Not only is he useless to the Texans, he is not a trade asset.
This is O’Brien’s fubar, not Caserio’s.

Texans always needed to absorb his dead money, whether there was a restructure or not, it’s just accounting. Next year they will hope to draft well but won’t be a player in FA, and neither should they. I was shocked that Cunningham made the regular season as a Texan.
 
Speedy said:
A Zach Cunningham draft thread has nothing to do with Zach Cunningham being cut. Just takes a little common sense. Sad that that message can't be passed along to those posters.
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Speedy said:
A Zach Cunningham draft thread has nothing to do with Zach Cunningham being cut. Just takes a little common sense. Sad that that message can't be passed along to those posters.
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Or all Zach Cunningham news belongs in one place, because it is well Zach Cunningham. Common sense.

Short answer, whatever we do in this regard half the board thinks wrong.
 
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ArlingtonTexan said:
Or all Zach Cunningham news belongs in one place, because it is well Zach Cunningham. Common sense.

Short answer, whatever we do ibn this regard half the board thinks wrong.
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Holy ****. It isn’t that damn hard. This is a Cunningham was drafted thread started 4 years ago. Has nothing to do with Cunningham being cut 4 years later. Yeah, makes total ******* sense.
 
Texian said:
Time for another File Clerk FUBAR BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH.

Another File Clerk restructured contract bites the dust. If you don't think it can get any worse, wait a few minutes. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

Now, the team has an additional $12.8M dead cap hit next year. BWWAAHHAHAAHA. $50MM in 2022 dead cap and counting. That's 25% of the salary cap. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
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Does it matter?

Does the team need the cap space next year?
 
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