Crucial addition on tap for Henson http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=1732822 For the first time since the 2000 college football season, Charley Casserly watched Drew Henson throw a ball with laces, not seams, on Wednesday morning. What was the verdict of the Texans' general manager following a workout at the club's training complex in Houston, where Henson prepped for the final time before a Thursday audition in front of dozens of NFL coaches, personnel directors and scouts? "He threw the ball very well, made every pass, and I can't imagine there's anything that teams will ask him to do [on Thursday] that he won't be able to do," Casserly said. "He's big and has a strong arm, he moved well, and I think people will be impressed by him." The cynics might point out, with some justification, that Casserly can't be anything but laudatory of the Henson workout on Wednesday. Part of Casserly's job, after all, is to stoke the flames and help enhance the trade market for the former University of Michigan star, who last week abandoned his baseball career to pursue an NFL career. Casserly, though, is a straight-shooter, not given to embellishment and hyperbole. And after working the last several weeks to reconnect with his dormant football skills, there is no reason to feel Henson won't be ready for the Thursday casting call in front of curious NFL evaluators. Roughly 10 teams have confirmed for Casserly that they will have representatives in town for the workout. The total number of teams, based on conversations ESPN.com has had with teams over the past week, figures to top out at approximately 13-16. The degree of interest, for sure, will vary from franchise to franchise. And the number of potentially viable suitors could rise or fall based on Henson's performance. League and team sources said that five franchises -- Buffalo, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Miami and Green Bay -- have indicated the most interest. Henson, who turns 24 on Friday, has not played a competitive snap since starting eight games for the Wolverines in 2000. He completed 61.6 percent of his attempts for 2,146 yards that season, with 18 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. For his career in Ann Arbor, he completed 214 of 374 passes for 2,946 yards, with 24 touchdown passes and seven interceptions. But the strong-armed Henson, who in 2001 signed a six-year, $17 million baseball deal with the New York Yankees, started just eight times in his 27 appearances. He took 441 snaps, roughly 270 of them in his junior season in 2000, so there is not a large body of work with which to evaluate him. There is little doubt, given that he walked away from a guaranteed $12 million remaining on the final three years of his baseball contract, that Henson is serious about his future in football. He has been working out in Bradenton, Fla., where the representation firm IMG operates its own complex, with longtime NFL quarterbacks coach Larry Kennan. Word from Kennan is that, beyond his obvious physical skills, Henson is bigger now and has demonstrated great field presence. He will work out Thursday under optimum conditions. With rain in the forecast, the session will be held at the Texans' indoor practice bubble. Kennan will conduct the throwing segment and then the Texans will oversee the combine-type drills. Houston will provide one receiver for the workout but, in a key move, most of Henson's targets will be IMG clients with whom he has worked in recent weeks. Because the Texans technically own Henson's football rights, having cleverly expended a sixth-round choice in 2003 to secure him, scouts leaguewide have cited tampering rules in opting not to speak for attribution about his potential. The common thread among all of the clubs represented Thursday will be an undeniable curiosity factor. There certainly is not a consensus yet on Henson's value. "People keep saying he'd be no worse than the third-best [quarterback prospect] if he was in this year's draft," said one AFC general manager. "I don't know that yet. This workout will answer some of the questions at least." Casserly said Wednesday that he expects teams legitimately interested in Henson will probably request permission for individual workouts. The Texans' priority remains to sign Henson to an NFL contract and then trade him. Some have suggested Casserly will seek a second-rounder as compensation, but the Houston general manager said he has no idea yet what the market will bear in terms of a price tag. If the Texans don't sign Henson by noon the day before the '04 draft, he will go back into the player pool, and can be chosen by another team. The chief benefit in such a maneuver would be that Henson would earn a much more lucrative contract than if he signs a deal with Houston, which is limited by rookie pool rules in what it can pay. But the upside to signing with the Texans this spring, as opposed to going back into the draft, is that Henson could essentially choose the team to which Houston trades him. A trip back to the draft could be risky because Henson would have no control over where he began his NFL career. "This is how [a team] beats the system," said Casserly, of a Henson trade. "How else are you going to get a young quarterback of this caliber? You can say you're going to take him in the draft but there are no guarantees. With a trade, he's yours, and you don't have to worry about somebody jumping ahead of you and grabbing him."
Man I really hope Drew puts on a show for the scouts. This year's draft looks to be pretty deep, so I really hope we can get a pick at least in the second round.
Henson was on the NFL Network last night and said his ideal situation would be one in which he was involved in a trade. Drew clearly thought this was his best option citing that he would be able to select the offensive system, coaching, and depth etc. Henson's stock is definitely on the rise, and if today's pending workout in Houston goes well, it is not at all out of the realm of possibility that Casserly and the Texans could net a first round pick in exchange for Drew either in '04 or '05. I suspect that pick will come in '05, but it would be nice to have it this year as well.
If this works out (by that I mean Henson puts on a show, signs w/ the Texans and is traded for a 1st or 2nd rounder), the Charlie Casserly is the best GM in the game. What a gamble. No one knew what Henson's intentions were last April. The worst that the Texans lose is a 6th round pick and the cost of today's tryout. I would like to think that Casserly can get a 1st rounder out of Henson. Then again, many a good player have come out of 2nd round picks (Clinton Portis sticks out in my mind). This could be another top defensive player or another reciever (I'm not convinced that they are happy with C Bradford). All in all, great move by Casserly and the Texans no matter what happens today.
I predict a Packer/Dolphin bidding war will ensue and a first rounder will be coming our way. Someone please do a favor for the out of towners and use this thread to report anything you hear via local news about how the workout went, who was impressed. How many scouts creamed their khakis....etc...
I expect it will be more of a 'recruiting' war to get Henson to 'demand' signing with Pack, or Fish, or whichever team. Then the Texans and trading partner can firm up deal. (Of course the trading partner will need a pretty good idea from CC what would be required in a trade.) Anyway, I expect ESPN and the cities involved to have as much news on this as H-Town.
Giants, Jets among 13 to scout Henson By GARY MYERS DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER The Giants, who need a quarterback of the future, and the Jets, who already have theirs, will attend Drew Henson's workout in Houston today. The Texans, set with David Carr, invested a sixth-round pick in Henson, the former Yankees minor league third baseman, last year with the sole intention of trading him before this year's draft if he dumped baseball. The Giants are sending GM Ernie Accorsi and VP for player evaluation Chris Mara to the workout. Texans GM Charley Casserly believes the Jets are sending one of their area scouts. The workout, the first opportunity for teams to see Henson throw a football since the 2000 season at Michigan, will be a major step in not only determining who steps up and deals for Henson, but how much the Texans can get for him. Before he quit football, Henson was considered good enough to possibly have been the top pick in the draft. Now, a second-round pick may get him. Casserly said 13 teams informed the Texans they intend to be at their indoor practice facility this afternoon - a few more may just show up - to watch Henson throw to receivers and go through drills. Two of his targets will be Sylvester Morris and Ron Dugans, who have NFL experience. In the case of the Jets, who are set with Chad Pennington, they are probably just doing their homework. The Giants, with Kerry Collins coming off a poor season, may have genuine interest in making a trade for Henson. The Giants even had the Texans send them tape of Henson. According to Casserly, the 13 clubs that indicated they will attend are: the Giants, Jets, Bills, Packers, Eagles, Dolphins, Cowboys, Steelers, Browns, Jaguars, Chiefs, Lions and Seahawks. Henson worked out for the Texans yesterday. "He looked terrific," Casserly said. "He's better now than when I saw him in 2000. He's bigger and stronger. I felt better after seeing the workout than before I started this thing. If people don't take this guy, they are missing a big one." If Henson is unsigned 24 hours before the April 24 draft, he goes into this year's draft. Why are the Jets, Eagles, Chiefs, and Lions coming? Aren't they set at QB? No mention of the Raiders or Cardinals on the list. Damn.
I think the Chiefs are looking to have him backup Green for a couple of years, and then let him take over. Not sure on Trent's age off the top of my head, but he doesn't have a whole lot of years left. Packers, Dolphins, Cowboys, Giants, Browns and maybe the Steelers are the only teams that could really use a QB. I don't understand the Lions, Jags, and Eagles though. The Lions and Jags just drafted their QB's of the future the last two seasons, and the Eagles have a pro bowl QB.
Ed Werder on espn is saying he looked very good at the workout. Henson's press conference afterwards will be on the air soon.
Henson showcases football skills for scouts By MARK BABINECK, Associated Press WriterFebruary 12, 2004 HOUSTON (AP) -- Drew Henson threw passes for representatives of 20 NFL teams Thursday, an audition that opened his transformation from New York Yankees prospect to pro quarterback. The Houston Texans own the NFL rights to Henson, who played quarterback at Michigan, and hope to trade them to another team before April's draft. Scouts took notes while Henson made about 75 tosses to four receivers inside the Texans' practice bubble near Reliant Stadium. ``I felt good. I threw as good as I could have hoped today,'' said Henson, drafted by the Texans in the sixth-round last year. Houston wants to trade his rights because they already have a young quarterback in David Carr; Henson can't be traded until March 4 under NFL rules. If the Texans don't work out a deal before the draft, he can be picked by any team. Texans general manager Charley Casserly drafted Henson even though the player insisted he was committed to baseball. The Yankees persuaded him to give up his senior year of football eligibility at Michigan and sign a $17 million, six-year deal. This month Henson agreed to give up the $12 million remaining over the final three years to pursue an NFL career. Casserly won't say exactly what the Texans want for Henson, but the team would love to get a first-round pick in return. The Bills, Packers and Dolphins are apparently among the teams that are most interested. ``You don't make any final decisions on these (open workouts); you can only eliminate guys. I don't think anyone eliminated him today,'' said Sam Wyche, Buffalo's new quarterbacks coach. Henson, who turns 24 Friday, hit .234 with 14 homers, 40 doubles and 78 RBIS for Triple-A Columbus last season. He struck out 122 times and made 22 errors. In a six-year minor league career that began on a Yankees rookie league team in 1998 and spanned 501 games, Henson hit .248 with 67 homers, 274 RBIs, 556 strikeouts and 136 walks. In his last year of football at Michigan, he completed 146 of 237 passes for 2,146 yards. He had 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Why would the Raiders or Cardinals look at Drew Henson when they are well within reach of Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger.
Dolphins: Desperately seeking quarterbacks by Fanball Staff - Fanball.com Thursday, February 12, 2004 News Miami is seemingly no longer in the running for the services of Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell, and they have begun exploring their alternative options. According to the Miami Herald, the Dolphins did float their first-round pick (No. 20 overall) in front of Washington to see if they could acquire incumbent starter Patrick Ramsey, but new Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said on Tuesday that he would not be traded. With their options dwindling, Miami is on hand to watch former Michigan quarterback Drew Henson audition today.
So, hypothetically... if Team 'A' offers us a first rounder and Team'B' offers us a second (or third) rounder... we won't have the final say. Obviously we would want to take the better deal (ie: the first rounder) but if Henson wants to play for Team 'B' we have no choice but to except what that team is willing to give us. I hope Henson plays along and doesn't reveal where he wants to go (Packers) before we get the best deal possible. Anyone else see where I am coming from on this deal?
Yes, but they could also offer up a second round pick, get the QB they need in Henson, and STILL pick up another stud (like Fitzgerald) with their top 3 pick. Would you rather have Eli Manning or Drew Henson + Larry Fitzgerald? At the very least, Arizona and Oakland's involvement would help drive the price up (due to their high picks).
If a team wants Henson, they will probably give us what we want. I can't see a team passing on a free shot at a qb if they like him.
