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Pitts gets new contract

wags

wags

Veteran
Offensive guard Chester Pitts didn't think about the possibility of playing college football until former NFL tackle Kyle Turley spotted him in a grocery store.

Turley suggested Pitts' big body could play in college, so Pitts followed Turley's recommendations and enrolled as a walk-on player at San Diego State. On Wednesday, Pitts, the former grocery worker, bagged one of the biggest contracts given to a guard in the NFL.

Pitts agreed to a four-year contract worth between $19.6 million and $20 million that included $8.1 million in guarantees, which includes a signing bonus and option bonus and a March roster bonus. After bouncing between left guard and tackle during his first three years, Pitts goes on the books as one of the elite guards financially in the league.

The former second-round pick will be watched more closely now that he has joined a top group that includes Larry Allen, Benji Olsen, Mike Wahle, Marco Rivera and others. At 6-foot-4, 329 pounds and with the athletic ability to play left tackle, Pitts has the chance to dominate at the line of scrimmage.

The Texans are trying to find stability along their offensive line. Last year, they tried Seth Wand next to him at left tackle, but the line struggled. This year, the hope is veteran Victor Riley, but the Texans felt Pitts had developed well enough to give him a big contract.

The 26-year-old Pitts was scheduled to make $455,000 this season and he was going to be a free agent after the season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2154482
 
20 million for 4 years? I'm no OL expert but I didn't think he was that good, have I been missing something?
 
the wonger need food said:
And some people suggest that the Texans overpay for average talent.

Congrats to Chester "Drive Killer" Pitts on the new contract.
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Good grief, could you atleast wait until mid-season and see how he performs before slapping the overpaid tag on him, I agree, this contract is questionable, but atleast give the man a chance to show up to his expectations. I've heard lots of good things about him this pass off-season, but am not sure he was worth the huge contract...lets just wait awhile to see how he lives up to it.
 
AndreJ said:
Good grief, could you atleast wait until mid-season and see how he performs before slapping the overpaid tag on him, I agree, this contract is questionable, but atleast give the man a chance to show up to his expectations. I've heard lots of good things about him this pass off-season, but am not sure he was worth the huge contract...lets just wait awhile to see how he lives up to it.
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The question really is... has he earned this contract in his previous years with the team. The guy kills at least 3 drives a game with his bone-headed penalties.

Was this part of the 4-year plan... to have the highest paid, most underperforming offensive line in the NFL?
 
I'm glad to see they've got Pitts locked up for awhile. The coaches think he's got Pro Bowl potential as a G, and he's been a solid guy for us.
 
Dont get me wrong I understand where you guys are coming from...but I'm not ready to stamp the overpaid tag on him, I want to see how his gameplay will be this year. Honestly if he does come out and have an outstanding season and play like an elite OL, will you still think we overpaid for him. However if he doesn't you better believe our front office is never gonna hear the end of this.
 
Whyen Pitts knows the snap count ..... he's good at both run and pass blocking ..... guy just cant seem to remember the snap count .


:penalty: ..... False Start # 69 offense ..... :brickwall


Maybe he'll sit down and learn to count all that money .... :pigfly:


Honestly he's probably the best player on the Texans O-line
 
wags said:
The Texans are trying to find stability along their offensive line. Last year, they tried Seth Wand next to him at left tackle, but the line struggled. This year, the hope is veteran Victor Riley, but the Texans felt Pitts had developed well enough to give him a big contract.
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First of all, great reward for the only O-lineman who has played every single Texans snap. (Of course, that means he was there for all those sacks too).

However, the line has struggled for three years, not just one, and Wand was only there for one. Pendry's solution was to replace a developing player with one who's main attribute seems to be he played right tackle for Pendry in Kanasas City. Hmmm.

I predict once the season starts and we're playing at real game speed, the younger and faster Wand will be starting again. Riley's lack of lateral speed will quickly become apparent, even with the O-line's new pass blocking schemes.
 
It's starting to become more clear why they cannot pursue free agents, even though they are well under the cap. There are a lot of average players left on the team to lock up with high-dollar, long-term contracts. McKinney should be next on the list.
 
the wonger need food said:
It's starting to become more clear why they cannot pursue free agents, even though they are well under the cap. There are a lot of average players left on the team to lock up with high-dollar, long-term contracts. McKinney should be next on the list.
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McKinney's already having his turn at the trough.
 
god i get tired of the pessimism on this board.

#1 You dont even know the details of his contract yet. it could be frontloaded.. or in some other way that makes the cap hit easily manageable. Our guys in the FO have been very good about paying big bucks to a player, but doing it in a way that doesnt injure us.

#2 He is one of the best Olinemen we have. Actually I would say he is hands down the second best guy we have behind Todd Wade. On top of that he is young and we drafted him ourself. he has played EVERY SNAP for us.

#3 False starts are a MINOR problem. That is something that is fixable in the long run. You dont let a talented player go because he gets a few too many false starts. That would be like letting Andre Johnson go because he drops a few too many passes.



sometimes i just wanna grab people and shake em.
 
Grid said:
god i get tired of the pessimism on this board.

#3 False starts are a MINOR problem.

sometimes i just wanna grab people and shake em.
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Hey, when Chester can go a couple of games w/o a flag, then I'll get off his case. At this point in Chester's career, he IS only AVERAGE, not a superstar. Untimely flags have killed more than one attempted comeback in this team's history.

I don't want him gone (he IS about the best we have), but that doesn't mean that he's earned a Free Pass from criticism of both his goofs AND his contract. :)
 
Congrats Chester ! Maybe our best OL ? Almost certainly the most valuable given his youth and upside and he's started every game since he's been here
(I think ?) - coaches always like perfect attendance. And yea, he can play LT and did for his first 2 years.
 
Runner said:
..Pendry's solution was to replace a developing player with one who's main attribute seems to be he played right tackle for Pendry in Kanasas City. Hmmm.
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Pendry coached in KC during the early '90s. Riley was drafted by the Chiefs in '98, 5 years after Pendry left. The only reason Riley is starting at LT is because the Texans believe he's better than Wand.

As far as the Pitts contract goes, remember that the salary cap will rise after the CBA with the players is finalized and the new TV money kicks in. In the long run, Pitts will have received a good but not great contract. I'd rather give Pitts $20 million than look to FA in '06 and pay a journeyman guard like Wiegert $18 million.
 
Hold it a moment. The guaranteed money on this contract is 8.2 million. If he gets cut after the 3rd year(depending on how the contract is structured), he might walk out with as little as say 10 million(which would be a little over 3.3 million a year). Thats not too much. Remember that most NFL contracts are backloaded and most players will never see the majority of their contract. They will be asked to renogitate or cut. So dont overeact its not too bad at all.
 
that doesn't mean that he's earned a Free Pass from criticism of both his goofs AND his contract.
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his goofs..no.. his contract, yes. hes a good player who has been very reliable for us. He deserves the contract.
 
any of you Pitts critics wanna name another true Guard in the NFL capable of even playing Left Tackle? For 2 years he played what is arguable the most important O-line position, and (hang onto your hat Nancy) DIDN'T MISS A SINGLE SNAP. Anyone care to name another Texan player that hasn't missed a single snap in 2 years? Only one I can even think of doing it is McKinney, and I know he missed some of the preseason a couple of years ago, but made the regular season games.

Pitts may get some false start penalty's, but they have gotten alot better. I think that will improve. I also think he is the best O-lineman we have, he deserves to get paid for his performance.

I think Casserly and company have been writing contracts long enough to know how to manage one and pick out the players who deserve to get the higher pay.

Ok, Walker may be an exception to that thought. But Pitts has earned his paycheck, just as DD did. It shows some foresight by the Texans to lock up their better players before they become FA's and get put on the auction block to see who is willing to pay the big dollars for them, IMHO.
 
I've stated for a while he is the best lineman on the team. Cheers for Chester. He gets better each year and is a great guy even if our fans can't see it.
 
Vinny said:
I've stated for a while he is the best lineman on the team. Cheers for Chester. He gets better each year and is a great guy even if our fans can't see it.
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The best lineman on a record setting sacks allowed team. Yea he's awesome. He gets beat often and has to hold to make up for it.
 
Lucky said:
Pendry coached in KC during the early '90s. Riley was drafted by the Chiefs in '98, 5 years after Pendry left. The only reason Riley is starting at LT is because the Texans believe he's better than Wand.
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I stand corrected. That's what I get for posting something I didn't google first to verify.

I'm concerned because I see a repeat of the failed Marcus Spears experiment of last year He platooned for Wand in one game, and then never appeared again after the coaches realized he wasn't an upgrade. Riley is the same type of journeyman, slow footed but competent lineman that Spears was.

Since the day he was drafted, Wand was praised by the Texans for his physical skills and dedication to working hard to improve. He was also a 3 year project who made improvements enough to start his second year. I still think they should use his skill and determination to help him make that 2nd to 3rd year (starting) improvement that Pitts is always praised for. That would better help the team out for the longer term than playing a guy on the downside of his career, who isn't much better, if at all.

Rather than do that, Pendry and the rest of the staff had Riley running with the first team almost as soon as camp started. It is starting to appear to me that when the O-line players are evaluated, maybe the coaching should be looked at more.
 
the wonger need food said:
The guy kills at least 3 drives a game with his bone-headed penalties.
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Well then he certainly deserves the contract because he is Houdini. Pretty hard to kill 3 drives a game with penalties when you only get called for .75 penalties per game--of those false starts were a little less than one every other game.
 
Runner said:
I'm concerned because I see a repeat of the failed Marcus Spears experiment of last year.
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There is no comparision. Spears is a backup that has floated around the league. Riley is a proven starting right tackle. He did play left tackle in college. I expect Riley to be a boost to our rushing attack on the left. I think he might struggle a bit with pass-protection early in the season (not as badly as Wand mind you), but he will settle in by mid-season.
 
ya'll guys need to stop throwing monkey's around :monkey: ...the guy is a guard not a QB...do you realize that right now he has 0 false starts right now on the year...he only had one i believe during the preseason and that was against the cowboys...i'm glad we locked up Pitts for atleast 3 years...pitts is our best overall o-lineman...and he will be a pro bowler one of these years
 
keyfro said:
ya'll
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For the love of Texas, please everyone, it is y'all not ya'll. The apostrophe in a contraction replaces missing letters, it is not randomly placed in the middle of one of the words.

Not directed at you keyfro, just a common thing that is a pet peeve for some reason.
 
I'm glad we locked him up. He is a versitile lineman, who stays healthy all year.

And guys, cmon, you have to pay him something to keep him here. Why would he agree to a low contract, when he could go somewhere else when he is a FA, and get more?
 
alright, alright. But don't go trying to make it seem like he's all that because he aint, but at least we signed him for a relative low contract.
 
infantrycak said:
For the love of Texas, please everyone, it is y'all not ya'll. The apostrophe in a contraction replaces missing letters, it is not randomly placed in the middle of one of the words.

Not directed at you keyfro, just a common thing that is a pet peeve for some reason.
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I thought it was yall. I have never seen the need for the apostrofe since it is not an academic word.
 
SESupergenius said:
alright, alright. But don't go trying to make it seem like he's all that because he aint, but at least we signed him for a relative low contract.
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I agree. He is not all that. And he does have some false start problems to work on. I just think he is a bright light in our lineup. McKinney needs all the help on each side he can get IMO.
 
Great move. He is a good guard for our line to develope around. And if he doesnt work out he shouldnt kill us in the long run.
 
It was a great deal. Look he costs the team less than $4 million per year the next 3 seasons (his prime) and the deal will either be renogiated in his last year or he'll be too good to resign and we'll gladly accept his $7 million cap number for that last season... Or, he'll be a bust and we'll cut him after three years and take a $2 million cap hit. NOT BAD AT ALL.

Besides all that, we're rewarding in a young, improving, high character guy whose been with us since the ugly beginning.
 
Texans | More Contract Details: C. Pitts
Wed, 7 Sep 2005 23:00:53 -0700

John McClain, of the Houston Chronicle, reports Houston Texans OL Chester Pitts' new contract has a total value of $19.675 million. He will get a signing/option bonus of $7.4 million. He will receive $800,000 now and a $6.6 million option bonus in March. Pitts' salary this season remains $455,000. In the last four years of his contract, he will receive salaries of $755,000 (2006), $2.45 million (2007), $3.355 (2008) million and $4.38 million (2009). Pitts also will get a $700,000 roster bonus next season and workout bonuses of $75,000 in each of the next three years.


from www.kffl.com
 
Vinny said:
I've stated for a while he is the best lineman on the team. Cheers for Chester. He gets better each year and is a great guy even if our fans can't see it.
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Is there any other lineman in the league that played every snap since they got drafted. That's 2844 total plays that he was in.
 
When I read the contract details I was shocked ,but I did read through everyones reasonings (whether good or bad) and I got to go with the Texans did alright.

You get a guy that is young and if needed can start at 2 positions if needed. LT and LG and that's a pretty important side unless Ragone starts :heh:
 
I'm thrilled for him. I know he would have rather been moved back to tackle and negotiated a tackle's contract, so I'm glad he got a he got a high-end guard contract.

And of course I'm glad he'll be sticking around.
 
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