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 message is pretty simple. When you are a team first guy and you are willing to work hard you get rewarded. When you are selfish and just want yours then you get shipped out of town.
I should note that the whole concept of the “Value of Things” got started in the Bill O’Brien era when he was dolling out these contracts to the wrong guys. The idea of rewarding hard work and shunning selfishness isn’t new. It’s not revolutionary. Every coach and general manager in the business probably has the same philosophy. The Houston Texans are now in THAT phase of their development. These are the hard times and the times when we get to find out if this thing is moving forward or stalling out in neutral.
While this team did bring in some free agents this offseason, it has been more about securing their own guys. Jalen Pitre and Derek Stingley are prime examples of this. Are they the right guys to commit long-term to? Obviously we will find out one way or another. The mistake from the O’Brien era is that it is fine for players to “want to” be a team player. All of us can have the right attitude. Not all of us can be THAT good at our job. Stingley is being paid like the best corner in the NFL. Pitre broke the bank for a player in his position as well. Are they worth it? Will Jayden Higgins be worth it? We all get to find out the answer to those questions in real time. Of course, the great thing about sports is that we don’t have to wait to voice our opinions. There are millions of arm-chair general managers out there.