Tyson Clabo

Texans Release Tyson Clabo

The Texans have made a change at offensive line, releasing offensive tackle Tyson Clabo, the team announced today (via Twitter). Because Clabo is a vested veteran, he won’t have to pass through waivers, meaning he’ll immediately be eligible to sign with a new team.

Clabo, 33, signed a two-year contract last July with the Texans, but after starting each and every one of his 116 career NFL games prior to the 2014 season, he was a reserve for Houston. For the season, Clabo logged just 101 offensive snaps, with 73 of those coming in Week 16 against the Ravens. Before he joined the Texans, Clabo spent most of his career with the Falcons, earning a Pro Bowl berth following the 2010 season, and also spent a single season in Miami in 2013.

A good chunk of Clabo’s $1.32MM cap hit for 2015 had been tied to his non-guaranteed base salary and roster bonuses that went unearned. As such, Houston will only be on the hook for $100K in dead money after releasing the veteran lineman.

Contract Details: Nelson, Reynolds, White

With a number of veteran free agents signing deals recently, and others being extended, the latest contract details have been a little more complicated than the usual minimum salary contracts we’d seen over the last few weeks. With that in mind, here’s a roundup of a few of the latest specific figures to surface:

Earlier updates:

  • Details of Roddy White‘s extension with the Falcons have emerged, and, unsurprisingly, the deal doesn’t look quite as lucrative as initially reported. According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (all Twitter links), White’s new four-year contract has a base value of $23MM, which means there’s $18MM in new money on the three-year extension. The pact also features a $7.55MM signing bonus and $8.5MM in escalators which could push the overall value to as high as $31.5MM. Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap has all the details in chart form.
  • We heard last week that Tyson Clabo‘s new two-year deal with the Texans is worth $2.4MM, and now Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun has the breakdown of the specifics (via Twitter). Per Wilson, the contract includes annual base salaries of $900K, a $200K signing bonus, roster bonuses worth up to $80K ($5K per game) in 2014, and roster bonuses worth up to $320K ($20K per game) in 2015.
  • Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) clarifies that the Seahawks can now recover up to 15% of the prorated portion of Marshawn Lynch‘s signing bonus, rather than the entire thing. That means the team could go after $225K of the bonus, rather than $900K.
  • The 49ers can do the same thing with Alex Boone‘s contract, as Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group details. 15% of Boone’s prorated signing bonus works out to $51K.

Texans Sign Tyson Clabo

5:55pm: It’s a two-year, $2.4MM deal for Clabo, tweets John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

1:12pm: The Texans have signed veteran offensive tackle Tyson Clabo, according to agent Chad Speck (via Twitter). ESPN’s Adam Caplan tweets that Clabo has signed a two-year-deal. The eight-year veteran met with Houston last week after having previously been linked to the Cardinals. As Brian McIntyre points out on Twitter, Clabo previously played for Texans offensive line coach Paul Dunn in Atlanta. He will also be reunited with former Miami assistant general manager Brian Gaine.

The former Pro-Bowler played with the Dolphins last season after spending seven season with the Falcons. According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), 2013 was arguably the worst season of the veteran’s career. However, Clabo consistently ranked among the league’s best tackles during his time in Atlanta.

Regardless, the 32-year-old will provide some depth to the Texans’ offensive line. Head coach Bill O’Brien has already declared Derek Newton the starting right tackle, but that might change with Clabo in the mix.

Texans Notes: QBs, Reed, Clabo, Posey

The Texans have one of the more interesting quarterback situations in the NFL this year, as they elected to pass on taking a quarterback in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft, despite it being a pressing need on a team that made the playoffs in 2012. After trading Matt Schaub to the Raiders, and trading backup T.J. Yates to the Falcons, the team has newly signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick penciled in as the starter. Behind Fitzpatrick, they have fourth-round pick Tom Savage and Case Keenum, who showed flashes in some playing time last year. While Fitzpatrick is the starter for now, Savage has impressed despite being raw, writes Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com. While Savage and Keenum are battling for the backup job, she wouldn’t be surprised to see Savage take the field at some point this season, if Fitzpatrick struggles with performance or injuries.

Here are some other notes from around the Texans:

Pompei On Flowers, Incognito, Holmes, FAs

In his latest Read Option piece for Bleacher Report, Dan Pompei spoke to three front office executives from around the league about the best remaining free agents on the market. Let’s dive right in and check out what Pompei and the trio of execs had to say about the top available players….

  • One exec wonders if Brandon Flowers might be declining after a poor 2013, while another likens him to Alterraun Verner, who received a $26MM deal ($14MM guaranteed) from the Bucs earlier this offseason.
  • All three of Pompei’s sources agree that Richie Incognito is easily the best interior lineman available, but no teams want to deal with him after last year’s bullying scandal.
  • Although Santonio Holmes is the most intriguing unsigned wide receiver, there are concerns about his durability, his asking price, and potentially his off-field presence. “We’d have to look more closely at what happened in New York with him in the locker room,” said one front office man.
  • Jason Babin and Ryan Pickett are both entering their mid-30s, meaning teams will proceed with caution. There’s also some concern that both players have become increasingly one-dimensional – Babin as a pass-rusher and Pickett as a space-eater – but the execs think both players will sign somewhere.
  • One exec on Josh Freeman: “He is probably better as a starter, but he isn’t going to get a starting job now. And if he knows he’s a backup, he might not prepare like he’s a starter.”
  • Michael Bush may be hard-pressed to find a role, since the devaluation of running backs means clubs are more inclined to pick up a rookie who can play special teams rather than a veteran like Bush.
  • Offensive linemen Eric Winston, Kyle Cook, and Tyson Clabo also earned mentions to round out the list of 10 players.

No Deal For Cardinals, Tyson Clabo

8:33pm: The Cardinals will not be inking Clabo to a contract, reports ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). Caplan says the team was interested in signing the veteran following his workout earlier today, but the two sides could not come to an agreement.

6:55pm: Veteran right tackle Tyson Clabo was expected to work out for the Cardinals on Monday, reported ESPN’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter).

Clabo, 32, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons and 116 career starts. After seven years in Atlanta, Clabo spent 2013 in Miami, where he made 15 starts, allowing 11 sacks and drawing a -0.9 overall rating from Pro Football Focus, including a poor -8.4 run blocking grade. At one point, Clabo was benched for a week in favor of Jonathan Martin before Martin left the team.

Whether Clabo is offered a contract by the Cardinals remains to be seen, but his presence in Arizona could be reason for concern, as the team is desperately hoping Bobby Massie, Bradley Sowell or Nate Potter emerges as a viable right tackle option. Sowell, who went undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2012, started 12 games last season, but did not establish himself as a long-term answer. Potter, a seventh-round choice in 2012, has 21 career games under his belt, including six starts as a rookie, though he is an underpowered blocker better-suited for a backup role. Massie, a fourth-round pick in 2012, is the most physically gifted of the group (including desirable 35-inch arms), but after he was thrown into the fire as a rookie starter, the presence of veteran Eric Winston made Massie a backup last season.

The fact the team is looking to a street free agent, particularly one clearly past his prime (who did not garner a free-agent contract in March), could indicate the unproven trio is not inspiring confidence. The Cardinals had one of, if not the worst offensive lines in football last season, and the team’s quarterback has been sacked 99 times the last two seasons. Jared Veldheer was signed to solidify the blind side, but it’s apparent right tackle remains a question mark.

AFC Notes: Albert, Verner, Clabo, Byrd

Branden Albert is likely to sign with the Dolphins when free agency officially begins on Tuesday, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Albert, 29, was the Chiefs first-round-pick in 2008, and as Florio notes, was nearly traded to the Dolphins last offseason.

The Dolphins need to rebuild a porous offensive line, and they essentially need four starters to team with center Mike Pouncey. The unit was decimated by the controversies relating to Jonathan Martin and Richie Incognito, neither of whom is expected to return to Miami. The Chiefs, meanwhile, will fill Albert’s shoes at left tackle with either Eric Fisher or Donald Stephenson, with the other manning the right tackle position.

Other news from the AFC: