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By CARLTON THOMPSON
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
The only thing Thursday's Drew Henson workout was missing was presidential candidate Howard Dean reeling off all the NFL locales that were represented. They came from Seattle, New York, Arizona, Miami and points in between.
Actually, it would be easier to list the teams that didn't show up, considering there were only 11 of them.
Now, after a nearly flawless exhibition that had observers raving about his arm strength and overall athleticism, it's time for Henson to hit the campaign trail.
The former University of Michigan quarterback, whom the Texans selected in the sixth round of last year's draft, is expected to visit interested teams to get a better feel for those organizations, staffs and cities and to convince suitors he's worth whatever draft compensation the Texans will demand in a trade.
Henson must be signed before the Texans can swap him, and he can be dealt only between March 3 and April 24. If he is not traded by then, an unlikely scenario, Henson would re-enter the draft.
While Texans general manager Charley Casserly will be discussing trade possibilities, agent Tom Condon will focus on hammering out a contract for Henson. Any deal Henson signs with the Texans must fall in line with last year's rookie pool allotment for a sixth-rounder, meaning Henson could earn no more than $238,000 in first-season salary. He can, however, receive bonus money, and a contract can be structured to allow Henson to reap bigger rewards on the back end.
More important to Henson than money, however, may be the fact he's essentially a free agent right now. Signing with the Texans and letting them trade him to a team he wants to play for is probably more attractive to Henson than having April's draft dictate where he goes.
"Drew, myself and Tom Condon will set out to find out who's interested and then start talking to those teams about the contract," Casserly said. "I'm not going to discuss any of those things publicly. It's a private matter between all the teams.
"There are many ways to be creative with the contract. The agent doesn't feel that's an issue. We don't think it's an issue."
Said Condon: "It's a little difficult to predict how long it's going to take. I'm guessing it will certainly be done before the draft, and I'm expecting it to be sooner than that.
"It's a unique situation. It's interesting from the standpoint that the player gets to know who the team is ahead of time, and he has to approve it. That makes it very unique. The market is about what we expected. There certainly is interest. Now it's a matter of what kind of compensation the Texans can work out."
Casserly has declined to discuss exactly what he is hoping to get in exchange for Henson, who spent the past two years playing baseball in the New York Yankees organization and hasn't played football since the 2001 Citrus Bowl, which concluded his junior season at Michigan. But it's no secret the Texans are hoping a first-round pick is part of the package.
Henson worked out for about 45 minutes Thursday inside the Texans' practice bubble, with the sidelines and one end zone filled with NFL types. Green Bay's Mike Sherman and Buffalo's Mike Mularkey were the only head coaches in attendance. Buffalo's Tom Donahue, Miami's Rick Spielman and the New York Giants' Ernie Accorsi were the only general managers.
The large turnout didn't seem to faze Henson, who is no stranger to big stages, having stood in the batter's box at Yankee Stadium.
"I felt good," he said. "That was about as good as I could have thrown. I'm pleased with it. This is my typical workout. I tried to treat it the same. This is my chance with the teams. I haven't thrown in front of anyone in a couple of years. This lets them see that I've come back."
Sources said that after the workout, Henson had separate meetings with representatives from the Cowboys, Dolphins, Chiefs and Bills.
"I don't have any favorites at this point," Henson said. "I'll just try to take the next few days and meet with the coaches and get to know the different organizations. I'm really open-minded about this."
Observers of the workout stressed it is only part of the evaluation and that film study and personal interviews could be more revealing, considering Henson wasn't put in game situations.
"It's a big leap to jump from Michigan, where he only (started) eight games and hasn't played in three years, to come to the NFL," Kansas City offensive coordinator Al Saunders said. "It's traumatic. There are a lot of guys who can throw a ball who are tending bar."
By all accounts, Henson clearly separated himself from bartenders/weekend warriors on Thursday. Spielman estimated Henson completed 90 percent of his approximately 75 passes, and Buffalo quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche said only one was uncatchable.
"What you can do on (a workout) like this is eliminate someone," Wyche said. "I don't think anyone can eliminate him off this workout."
Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England, San Diego, San Francisco and Tennessee were the teams not represented at Thursday's workout. But even those clubs will have a chance to reconsider. The Texans videotaped the session and are making copies available to all interested teams.
"I don't think since Brett Favre have you had a guy with this kind of raw talent available in a trade situation," Casserly said. "Brett Favre, not talking about where he is now but when he got traded, was a second-round draft choice. For a young guy that had talent and things didn't go right in Atlanta, he became available in a trade.
"I think this is a parallel situation. I'm not saying he's going to be Brett Favre, but he's a young, talented quarterback who is available outside the draft process. If you're a team that needs a young quarterback, this is a way you beat the system. This is how you get a Brett Favre or Steve Young."
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
The only thing Thursday's Drew Henson workout was missing was presidential candidate Howard Dean reeling off all the NFL locales that were represented. They came from Seattle, New York, Arizona, Miami and points in between.
Actually, it would be easier to list the teams that didn't show up, considering there were only 11 of them.
Now, after a nearly flawless exhibition that had observers raving about his arm strength and overall athleticism, it's time for Henson to hit the campaign trail.
The former University of Michigan quarterback, whom the Texans selected in the sixth round of last year's draft, is expected to visit interested teams to get a better feel for those organizations, staffs and cities and to convince suitors he's worth whatever draft compensation the Texans will demand in a trade.
Henson must be signed before the Texans can swap him, and he can be dealt only between March 3 and April 24. If he is not traded by then, an unlikely scenario, Henson would re-enter the draft.
While Texans general manager Charley Casserly will be discussing trade possibilities, agent Tom Condon will focus on hammering out a contract for Henson. Any deal Henson signs with the Texans must fall in line with last year's rookie pool allotment for a sixth-rounder, meaning Henson could earn no more than $238,000 in first-season salary. He can, however, receive bonus money, and a contract can be structured to allow Henson to reap bigger rewards on the back end.
More important to Henson than money, however, may be the fact he's essentially a free agent right now. Signing with the Texans and letting them trade him to a team he wants to play for is probably more attractive to Henson than having April's draft dictate where he goes.
"Drew, myself and Tom Condon will set out to find out who's interested and then start talking to those teams about the contract," Casserly said. "I'm not going to discuss any of those things publicly. It's a private matter between all the teams.
"There are many ways to be creative with the contract. The agent doesn't feel that's an issue. We don't think it's an issue."
Said Condon: "It's a little difficult to predict how long it's going to take. I'm guessing it will certainly be done before the draft, and I'm expecting it to be sooner than that.
"It's a unique situation. It's interesting from the standpoint that the player gets to know who the team is ahead of time, and he has to approve it. That makes it very unique. The market is about what we expected. There certainly is interest. Now it's a matter of what kind of compensation the Texans can work out."
Casserly has declined to discuss exactly what he is hoping to get in exchange for Henson, who spent the past two years playing baseball in the New York Yankees organization and hasn't played football since the 2001 Citrus Bowl, which concluded his junior season at Michigan. But it's no secret the Texans are hoping a first-round pick is part of the package.
Henson worked out for about 45 minutes Thursday inside the Texans' practice bubble, with the sidelines and one end zone filled with NFL types. Green Bay's Mike Sherman and Buffalo's Mike Mularkey were the only head coaches in attendance. Buffalo's Tom Donahue, Miami's Rick Spielman and the New York Giants' Ernie Accorsi were the only general managers.
The large turnout didn't seem to faze Henson, who is no stranger to big stages, having stood in the batter's box at Yankee Stadium.
"I felt good," he said. "That was about as good as I could have thrown. I'm pleased with it. This is my typical workout. I tried to treat it the same. This is my chance with the teams. I haven't thrown in front of anyone in a couple of years. This lets them see that I've come back."
Sources said that after the workout, Henson had separate meetings with representatives from the Cowboys, Dolphins, Chiefs and Bills.
"I don't have any favorites at this point," Henson said. "I'll just try to take the next few days and meet with the coaches and get to know the different organizations. I'm really open-minded about this."
Observers of the workout stressed it is only part of the evaluation and that film study and personal interviews could be more revealing, considering Henson wasn't put in game situations.
"It's a big leap to jump from Michigan, where he only (started) eight games and hasn't played in three years, to come to the NFL," Kansas City offensive coordinator Al Saunders said. "It's traumatic. There are a lot of guys who can throw a ball who are tending bar."
By all accounts, Henson clearly separated himself from bartenders/weekend warriors on Thursday. Spielman estimated Henson completed 90 percent of his approximately 75 passes, and Buffalo quarterbacks coach Sam Wyche said only one was uncatchable.
"What you can do on (a workout) like this is eliminate someone," Wyche said. "I don't think anyone can eliminate him off this workout."
Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England, San Diego, San Francisco and Tennessee were the teams not represented at Thursday's workout. But even those clubs will have a chance to reconsider. The Texans videotaped the session and are making copies available to all interested teams.
"I don't think since Brett Favre have you had a guy with this kind of raw talent available in a trade situation," Casserly said. "Brett Favre, not talking about where he is now but when he got traded, was a second-round draft choice. For a young guy that had talent and things didn't go right in Atlanta, he became available in a trade.
"I think this is a parallel situation. I'm not saying he's going to be Brett Favre, but he's a young, talented quarterback who is available outside the draft process. If you're a team that needs a young quarterback, this is a way you beat the system. This is how you get a Brett Favre or Steve Young."