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Texas NFL Capsules: Cowboys send Crayton to SD, McQuiston to Miami
IRVING (AP) — Patrick Crayton wanted out the minute the Dallas Cowboys drafted Dez Bryant. He finally got his wish Friday, and it might've been worth the wait.
Crayton was dealt to the San Diego Chargers, where he'll be a bigger part of the offense than he would've been in Dallas and still will be playing for a contender. The change in locales isn't bad either, although he's leaving the area where he grew up.
Dallas received only undisclosed considerations, likely a late-round draft pick. The club figured it was better than cutting him and getting nothing, plus it puts him in the other conference.
The Cowboys kept Crayton all summer mainly because there was no incentive to give in to his trade request. Once club officials began narrowing toward the 53-man roster due Saturday, they apparently felt they couldn't justify keeping someone with his high salary ($2 million) in a reduced role (fourth receiver, backup punt returner).
"You have to take everything into consideration — economics, how he fits with the team, the overall body of work — and you make a decision based on that," Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said. "We really waited to evaluate all our receivers. ... We feel very comfortable with our depth."
They also waited to feel comfortable with Bryant's health.
The former Oklahoma State star missed the entire preseason with a high ankle sprain, but is ready for the opener at Washington a week from Sunday. Bryant is expected to take over the roles Crayton had last season — No. 3 receiver and punt returner. Dallas may ease Bryant into the punt return job; rookie safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah likely would be used first.
Crayton skipped offseason workouts because he was upset about Bryant's arrival. Once he showed up, there were never any problems. He just couldn't get ahead of Miles Austin, Roy Williams and Bryant on the depth chart.
"You have to let things play out," Jones said. "We really wanted to evaluate the full situation. Now we're at a point where we need to make decisions."
This move also shows faith in Kevin Ogletree being ready to take on a larger role in his second season. He had six catches for 51 yards, both team-bests, in a 27-25 victory over Miami on Thursday night.
"I think he's shown he deserves an opportunity to do more," Jones said.
Dallas also has Sam Hurd, a fifth-year receiver and special teams standout. His roster spot could be in jeopardy, too, because he has a $1.8 million contract.
Crayton was among the team's most sure-handed receivers, catching 196 passes for 2,888 yards and 23 touchdowns in 82 games, including 33 starts. However, fans will never forget that he dropped a likely touchdown pass late in a humiliating playoff loss to the New York Giants in 2007.
He'd been with the team since 2004, part of Bill Parcells' second draft class.
"Patrick's been a very productive player for this organization," Jones said. "He's done nothing but represent the Cowboys in a first-class way. There was never any hard feelings from the organization's standpoint toward Patrick."
Chargers general manager A.J. Smith didn't return a call seeking comment. He's been dealing with the holdout of Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who has refused to sign his tender as a restricted free agent. Jackson could sit out the whole season.
The Chargers' projected starters are Malcom Floyd and Legedu Naanee. San Diego signed free agent wide receiver Josh Reed to a one-year deal contract in mid-June as a pre-emptive move against a long holdout by Jackson.
Also Friday, Dallas traded offensive lineman Pat McQuistan to the Miami Dolphins for undisclosed considerations.
McQuistan was drafted by the Cowboys when Miami executives Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland were here and Dolphins coach Tony Sparano was his position coach for two seasons. He played 40 games, but never started.
The acquisition of McQuistan gives the Dolphins more depth in the offensive line. Pro Bowl left tackle Jake Long hurt his left knee during Thursday's game at Dallas.
Long left the game but walked afterward without a limp and said he was fine.
Texans releasing last original player in PK Brown
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston coach Gary Kubiak got his toughest cut out of the way first.
The Texans released kicker Kris Brown, the only player remaining from the inaugural 2002 season. Brown lost a competition in training camp to Neil Rackers, a free agent who was signed in the offseason.
Kubiak said Brown was the first player he met with on Friday, a sign of respect for the only player who’s appeared in all 128 games in Texans history.
"It was miserable, I don’t know how to put it any differently," said Kubiak, who’s entering his fifth season. "Kris and I had a lot of conversations throughout my time here. We’ve had some great conversations, we’ve had some tough conversations on Sunday nights. But I respect him as a man. He’s a great person. I respect his career, and I know he’s going to have a good one."
Brown followed up his best season as a pro in 2008 with his worst last season, when he made just 21 of 32 field goals. Rackers spent the previous seven seasons in Arizona. He made the Pro Bowl in 2005 after setting an NFL record for field goals in a season (40).
Kubiak said Rackers won the job more because of his deeper kickoffs than his field-goal accuracy. Neither kicker missed in the preseason until Brown came up short on a 56-yarder in Thursday’s 24-17 loss to Tampa Bay. Rackers hit a 21-yarder later in the game.
"It was a tough, tough call," Kubiak said. "I have a lot of respect for Kris, and what he’s done here. But we made a decision to go in another direction, and we’ve got a lot of confidence in Neil."
Cornerback Jacques Reeves was also cut after he was outplayed by younger, less experienced players at training camp.
Kubiak was secretive about other players released Friday. He said the Texans are still mulling some decisions, and would put out the full list of cuts on Saturday, the deadline for teams to trim their rosters to 53 players.
Kubiak said he’s sticking with Dan Orlovsky as the backup quarterback, despite his uneven performance in Thursday’s preseason finale. Orlovsky completed his first eight passes before throwing two interceptions in the first half.
"I can’t dismiss the great camp he’s had," Kubiak said. "I’m not going to throw that away because he made two poor decisions. Now, do I like those decisions? Can we win with those decisions? No. But I can’t but help but think of the good things he’s done this camp, the progress he’s made."
Kubiak said former Southern Cal quarterback John David Booty would not make the final 53, but might be placed on Houston’s practice squad. Booty threw for 209 yards and two touchdown passes against Tampa Bay.
The Texans worked out running backs Derrick Ward and Justin Fargas on Friday as they look to replenish depth at the position. Arian Foster has earned the starting role, but Steve Slaton and Jeremiah Johnson have sustained recent toe injuries.
"Obviously, we’ve got a running back issue on our football team right now, so we’ll be talking to a bunch of people," Kubiak said. "We’ll be looking at the waiver wire very, very closely. We’ve got some issues to try and get cleaned up."
At least the toughest one is out of the way. Brown’s agent, Glenn Schwartzman, said he’s confident Brown will play somewhere this season.
"We’re kind of going to just digest what just happened," Schwartzman said. "The first situation that makes sense to us, we’ll definitely strongly consider that. But we’re not in a rush to just take something, just to take something. We want to make sure it’s a place where he and his family can be for a while."
Brown was 29 of 33 on field-goal attempts in 2008, the highest percentage of his 11-year career, before missing 11 kicks last year. He was also active in Houston charities.
"It’s been a great ride for him," Schwartzman said. "He loves the Texans organization and the city. He did everything he could to put himself in a position to stay with the team. He had one of the best camps he’s ever had. He competed really hard, but the team made the decision it made, and he’s got to respect that and get ready for his next opportunity."
The decision to cut Brown was first reported by KRIV-TV and the Houston Chronicle.
-- Chris Duncan
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What did we learn about the NFL this preseason?
The Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets are supposed to be among the ranks of Super Bowl favorites. They sure didn't look like it during the preseason.
Of course, those games also didn't count.
That's the trouble with trying to make sense of the preseason. We don't know how much to take from the things we saw the last five weeks.
Are the 49ers (4-0) really that good? The Colts (0-4) certainly aren't that bad. (The 0-4 Bears, however, might be.)
Since the standings aren't a good barometer, let's instead turn to some story lines that emerged from preseason. There are plenty to follow headed into Thursday night's opener in New Orleans, with Brett Favre and the Vikings taking on Drew Brees and the Super Bowl champion Saints:
— DILEMMA IN DALLAS, NERVOUS IN NEW YORK
Tony Romo led just one touchdown drive in four preseason games, and it covered all of eight yards. The worrisome part for Jerry Jones' crew is how many drives fizzled because of a shoddy offensive line and sloppy play close to the opponent's goal line.
The Cowboys say bland play-calling and a patchwork line are to blame. They insist everything will click once the season starts, with the debut of rookie receiver Dez Bryant giving them another boost. What else can they say?
Whatever Jets coach Rex Ryan has to say is probably funny, filthy or both if you've seen his starring performance in "Hard Knocks."
But the most foul words New York could hear are "sophomore slump," as in Mark Sanchez regressing in his second season. He doubled Romo's preseason TD production with two amid excuses, er, explanations similar to those heard in Dallas. The club has another lingering issue with star cornerback Darrelle Revis still holding out.
— LAMBEAU LEAK
Cleveland, Seattle and Kansas City all posted their highest point totals of the preseason against Green Bay.
So the Packers don't even want to think about what good offenses might do against their club.
Defensive coordinator Dom Capers can offer the same plausible reasons as the offensive coordinators on the Cowboys and Jets — Green Bay wasn't going to show more than it had to in exhibition games. However, mounting injuries in the secondary (safety Atari Bigby, cornerback Al Harris) are a huge concern for a unit that already seemed overmatched against the top quarterbacks last season. Kurt Warner and the Cardinals racked up 51 points in the Packers' last game that counted, a playoff loss.
Green Bay defenders have the benefit of practicing against a great quarterback: Aaron Rodgers, who led the Packers to seven touchdowns in 13 drives this preseason.
— REPLACING ROETHLISBERGER
Pittsburgh was hoping Byron Leftwich could be enough of a game manager to get his club through Ben Roethlisberger's suspension, which commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday cut to four games. But Leftwich got hurt in the preseason finale, leaving coach Mike Tomlin to choose between Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch.
Dixon is young, athletic and error-prone. He might be put on a short leash or find himself behind Batch, another game manager type. Then again, the Steelers had such little faith in him as Roethlisberger's stand-in that they signed Leftwich.
— FAVRE'S TARGETS
Soon after the 40-year-old quarterback was pried from Mississippi by several Minnesota teammates, he started losing his receivers: Sidney Rice underwent hip surgery, then Percy Harvin had a flare-up of his migraine problems that was so severe he was rushed to a hospital.
Harvin is back and thinks his migraine issue might be under control. Rice, however, is on the physically unable to perform list for at least six games. That led to a trade for Greg Camarillo and the signing of Javon Walker, who'd been unemployed since Oakland dropped him last season.
Grandpa Brett might just have to give the ball to Adrian Peterson more often.
— CAROLINA'S SHUTOUT
The Panthers took 253 snaps this preseason. None resulted in a touchdown.
That's right, their offense went 0-for-the-preseason. The best they could muster was an offensive player, running back Mike Goodson, going 91 yards on a kickoff return.
Sure, Carolina was missing receiver Steve Smith, running back Jonathan Stewart and right tackle Jeff Otah. Matt Moore was taking over as the No. 1 quarterback for the first time and rookie Jimmy Clausen was trying to steal the job. But, still — 253 straight plays without a touchdown?
At least the defense is doing fine without Julius Peppers. The Panthers allowed the fewest yards and second-fewest points. The D even scored a touchdown, on a fumble return by defensive end C.J. Wilson.
— THE TWO-REALITY-HOST OFFENSE
Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco are getting along just fine. They aren't fighting over ratings or receptions.
Ochocinco is calling himself Robin to Owens' Batman, and quarterback Carson Palmer has dubbed himself Alfred, as in the butler to the original dynamic duo. It's a great analogy because Palmer's success revolves around keeping his wideouts happy.
— HEY, UMP!
The league moved umpires from the middle of the defense to behind the deepest running back to get them out of harm's way. The problem is that's still the best perspective, so they were supposed to get back there for the final two minutes of each half.
Then the ump in the Indianapolis-Green Bay game failed to get in position before two plays, leading to a pair of illegal snaps against Peyton Manning. His complaints prompted the league to move the umpires to their old spots for the final five minutes of each half in Thursday's preseason games.
A decision on what to do this season is expected before the opener.
— PRESEASON PREDICTOR
And now, back to the original question. How much can you read into preseason football?
The oddsmakers at Bodog.com saw enough to change the Super Bowl betting line on 18 teams since the start of the exhibition season. The odds got better for only four clubs — and that includes Dallas and Green Bay.
Let's look at some recent history, too.
The last five Super Bowl winners went a combined 12-8 in the preseason, ranging from 1-3 to 3-1; nothing significant there.
When the Patriots went 16-0, they were 2-2 in the games that didn't count.
There was one noteworthy performance: the 2008 Detroit Lions went 4-0 in the preseason — and 0-16 in the regular season.
-- Jaime Aron
