March 08, 2017
According to Ed Werder of ESPN, the Houston Texans fear losing cornerback A.J. Bouye to the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency, but are poised to make a counter-offer.
#Texans concerned about prospect of losing CB AJ Bouye to #Eagles, per source. #Texans to counter offer today
— Ed Werder (@Edwerderespn) March 8, 2017
After a breakout season in 2016, Bouye is widely considered to be the prize of this year's free agent cornerback class, despite starting just 19 games in four seasons in the NFL. In the very recent past, the Eagles have been burned twice when signing "the prize of the free agent cornerback class" when they handed out big-time money to Nnamdi Asomugha and Byron Maxwell.
At the NFL Combine last Wednesday, Howie Roseman seemed to hint that the Eagles would not be big players in the cornerback free agent market this year, after having learned lessons from previous misses.
"You’ve seen in the last couple of weeks, and certainly in the next couple of weeks, a lot of guys that have been signed (in free agency) the last couple of years have been cut and been in a position where they’re going back on the market," said Roseman. "You’re just trying to find guys who fit your scheme, fit what you’re trying to do from an offense-defense-special teams perspective. When you’re bringing in a guy who played in a different scheme, it’s all projection. It’s hard. That’s why there’s not a great hit rate on free agents and high-priced free agents."
Bouye will not come cheap.
All of Texans corner A.J. Bouye's contract proposals average $12 million or higher, according to sources
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 7, 2017
If the Eagles were to pay that kind of money to Bouye, it would significantly restrict what they can do at other positions in free agency.
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