Battle Red Blog
A calculated gamble could pay off big time
One need look no further than the tale of a former Texans star when chronicling the folly of fully guaranteed contracts. The Cleveland Browns gave Watson the most guaranteed money in the NFL after he had sat out a year twiddling his thumbs and before he would have to sit out most of the next season due to suspension. I think we know the rest of the story.
I am more than positive that many people saw the Jayden Higgins contract and had the same image in their head. After all, no second round pick had ever had his four year contract completely guaranteed because none of them have played a down of football in the NFL. It might not be an every year occurrence, but it is not unprecedented for a second round pick to be out of the league by the second year.
So, the stories around the league will go: is Nick Caserio a genius or an idiot? I’d make a case for the former, but not necessarily for the reasons that people might think. The most relevant Houston example I can think of is the curious case of George Springer. Springer played four years of college baseball and blitzkrieged through the minor leagues on the way to Spring Training in 2014. He dominated there too.
However, instead of calling him up because he was obviously the best or second best player in the organization, they sent him down in order to manipulate his service time clock. They ended up getting an extra year out of him. When it was time to become a free agent, Springer didn’t look back and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. There was never any serious consideration of him coming back.
One of the things that Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans have done well is cultivate a culture in Houston. They call it “swarm” but you can call it whatever you want. The idea is that you are expected to be a team first guy and do what needs to be done to win. The important part is that they have handsomely rewarded nearly everyone that has done that well. That kind of investment does two very important things.
First. it engenders loyalty from that player. Higgins and his agent see this as a sign of faith. The Texans have given him as much as they possibly can according to the rules of the CBA. The upshot is that even if he is not good, that ends up being maybe five or six million more than what it would have been going the conventional route. That five or six million is a decent bet because they could end up saving much more than that when the negotiations for the second contract roll around.
Secondly, with every contract the Texans give, the rest of the roster sees what is happening here in Houston. That also includes the guys that were cut or traded. The...
