The Texans are unlikely to place the ~$14.297MM franchise tag on pending free agent A.J. Bouye, which the cornerback understands. “Like my agent told me, it’s about the market value. If you’re not set to make that amount in the franchise tag, then the Texans have to do what they have to do,” Bouye told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “We made some moves last offseason and spent some money. We have guys, other corners, No. 25 [Kareem Jackson], No. 24 [Johnathan Joseph] and No. 30 [Kevin Johnson]. On top of trying to bring me back, they also have to take care of Hopkins, take care of Clowney when his deal is up.” If the Texans don’t tag Bouye, the 25-year-old could price himself off the team on a long-term deal once he reaches the open market. Even though he only has 19 starts to his name, Bouye’s “going to get paid a lot of money” because “everybody in the league knows how good he is,” an NFL personnel department executive informed Wilson.
More from around football (and a relevant baseball note):
- As expected, the knee injury that sidelined Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill for the tail end of last season, including the team’s wild-card round loss to the Steelers, won’t be a problem going forward. Tannehill is now fully healed from his partially torn ACL/Grade 2 MCL sprain and will be able to participate in the Dolphins’ entire offseason program, reports Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald.
- Because he pleaded guilty to a non-criminal charge of disorderly conduct in January 2015, former Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly isn’t allowed to participate in next week’s scouting combine in Indianapolis. However, Kelly’s agent, Vance McAlister, is still working to land an invitation for his client, details Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. If that doesn’t happen, Kelly and McAlister might travel to Indy anyway. “We are talking with all the teams that have already expressed interest to see what their thoughts are to make a decision,” said McAlister, who believes Kelly deserves an opportunity to meet with each team and let the clubs decide if he’s worth drafting. “I’ll be the first to tell you, Chad has had to grow up and has made some mistakes because of his immaturity. No question about that,” continued McAlister. “But for me, it’s up to the 32 teams to decide whether he has learned from his mistakes or grown. Nobody would be writing a story or talking about this if Chad didn’t have the talent. And by no means are we trying to justify any of his behavior of what he has done in the past. But that’s for teams to talk to him, ask him the questions and decide.”
- Onetime NFL defensive back Sanders Commings will attempt to break into Major League Baseball as an outfielder, having agreed to join the Atlanta Braves on a minor league contract, writes Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. The soon-to-be 27-year-old could have taken a shot at a baseball career much earlier, as the Arizona Diamondbacks selected him in the 37th round of the 2008 MLB draft, but he instead chose to play football at Georgia. After his time with the Bulldogs ended, Commings went to Kansas City in the fifth round of the NFL draft in 2013. Commings appeared in the only two games of his pro football career that year with the Chiefs, who waived him in December 2015.
- Jaguars offensive tackle Josh Wells‘ new deal is a two-year, $1.52MM pact featuring $75K in guarantees, tweets Adam Caplan of ESPN.