The Texans re-signed offensive tackle Rashad Butler to a one-year contract.





(chron.com)

Below proCanes.com analyzes the NFL U free agent market and tries to give you, the fans, a better idea of where these free agents may end up for the 2009 season. First off, here are the different types of free agents defined in case you don't now the difference:

Unrestricted Free Agents
Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) are players who have completed four or more accrued seasons of service and whose contracts have expired. They are free to sign with any club.

Restricted Free Agents
Restricted Free Agents (RFA) are players who have completed three accrued seasons of service and whose contracts have expired. They have received qualifying offers from their old clubs and are free to negotiate with any club until April 21, at which time their rights revert to their original club. If a player accepts an offer from a new club, the old club will have the right to match the offer and retain the player. If the old club elects not to match the offer, it may receive draft-choice compensation depending on the level of the qualifying offer made to the player.

Exclusive-Rights Free Agents
Exclusive-Rights Free Agents (ERFAs) are players who have completed between 0-2 accrued seasons of service whose contracts have expired. If tendered, they have no negotiating rights with other clubs and must sign their tender with their old club or sit out the season.

2009 UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

Phillip Buchanon CB 5-11 186 7th Season Buccaneers:
According to members of the Buccaneers organization, many from within believe Phillip Buchanon was their most consistent cornerback last year. At the beginning of the offseason many people thought the Bucs would let Buchanon go because of the coaching changes and and change in defensive philosophy. That looks to not be the case though. The Bucs will be talking to Buchanon's agent Drew Rosenhaus this week and hope to sign before he hits the open market. After a rough beginning to his career, Buchanon seems to have settled and become a vital part of the Tampa Bay defense. Look for him to remain a Buccaneer.

Vernon Carey OT 6-5 350 5th Season Dolphins:
Vernon Carey actually never hit the free agency market despite not being franchised by the Miami Dolphins. Once the Dolphins elected not to franchise him most people began to speculate that they no longer wanted Carey and both the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings would go after him. One day later though, the Dolphins did sign Carey to a 6-year $42 million contract making him the highest paid right tackle in the league. Congrats to Vernon!

Bubba Franks TE 6-6 265 9th Season NY Jets:
Bubba Franks had a disappointing 2008 season despite being teamed up with Brett Favre again. Bubba's best seasons as a Green Bay Packer were with Favre, but they never seemed to to find that magic last year as Jets. Bubba fought through injuries during the season but missed 8 games. He finished the season with only six reception for 47 yards and no TDs. The Jets did released TE Chris Baker, which would create an opening for Bubba, but they do have Dustin Keller who they are pretty high on. If Bubba stays looks for him to be Keller's backup which is a possibility as long as he can show that he can stay healthy.

William Joseph DT 6-5 308 6th Season Raiders:
Joseph was signed last offseason by the Raiders to give them help along the defensive line with the loss of Warren Sapp. Joseph was cut right before the beginning of season, but was then signed in week 8 and played the last 7 weeks of the season accumulating 8 tackles. Since being drafted by the NY Giants in the first round in 2003, Joseph has not lived up to expectations. He will probably get signed by someone in need of DL depth and it very well could be the Oakland Raiders.

Ray Lewis LB 6-1 250 13th Season Ravens:
It is rumored that the Jets are making salary cap room to possibly sign Ray Lewis. The Cowboys have been rumored to be a destination Ray would potentially prefer as well. Ray has said before that he would like to end his career as a Raven and the Ravens would really like to sign him before the free agency period begins on February 27, despite being irked by his comments at the Pro Bowl which most people think were said to get him a bigger contract. This would be the first time Ray would hit the free agent market and the Ravens are afraid that if he does he will be gone. Look for the Ravens to sign him before he hits the market.

Darrell McClover LB 6-1 226 5th Season Bears:
McClover has been important cog in the Bears' special teams for the past few years, but he missed the last 6 games due to injury this year and the Bears do not seem to be interested in resigning him. He has been a career special teams player but also has the ability to play the OLB spot. If the Bears do not re-sign him, which looks unlikely, look for him to get picked up by a team with special teams needs like the Patriots, Chiefs, or Titans.

Jerome McDougle DE 6-2 2646th Season NY Giants:
McDougle has dealt with a lot of adversity during his short career and unfortunately has never lived up to expectations despite always performing well in training camps. More than anything, he is happy to be alive considering his near-death experience of being shot in the abdomen. McDougle didn’t contribute much to the Giants, and now Osi Umenyiora is presumably coming back to join what should be a three-man end rotation with Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka. Dave Tollefson (an exclusive rights free agent) figures to be the fourth. If there’s a fifth, it’ll come out of the draft. Look for McDougle to get one more shot in someone's training camp, he has shows great resiliency throughout his tough career.

Brett Romberg C 6-2 298 5th Season Rams:
Though a little undersized Romberg has been in the thick of the starting center position for the last few years in St. Louis. He started three games in 2006, nine games in 2007 and six games in 2008. Last year he broke his hand in training camp and lost the job to Nick Leckey. Romberg did end up starting the last 6 games of the season though. The Rams seems to like Romberg more than Leckey so look for them to re-sign Romberg.

Jonathan Vilma LB 6-1230 5th Season Saints:
Re-signing MLB Jonathan Vilma is the Saints' top priority. Vilma, who was traded to the Saints a year ago, is said to be very interested in re-upping with New Orleans, but the team will not strike a deal with him until Feb. 27 — the start of free agency — at the earliest, guaranteeing that Vilma will hit the open market. Signing him before then would force the Saints to give up higher draft picks to the Giants and Jets — first- and second-rounders, respectively, instead of second- and third-rounders — per the deals for TE Jeremy Shockey and Vilma. The Saints are optimistic he will be back and so are we. Unless someone throws a lot of money in Vilma's direction look for him to sign with the Saints as soon as he hits the market.

Nate Webster LB 6-0 232 9th Season Broncos:
Webster beat out free-agent Niko Koutouvides for the starting MLB spot last fall which was a huge surprise to many considering the large contract that was given to Koutouvides. The Denver defense last year was bad. Many people blamed Webster but the problems ran much deeper than him. The DL was atrocious and injuries took their toll as well with DJ Williams missing time as well as Webster. Koutouvides was recently cut by the Broncos, which could mean that the Broncos are interested in keeping Webster. If they do, look for him to be more of an insurance policy as he can backup all three LB positions or if Williams is moved back to MLB then Webster could find a spot on the outside.

2009 RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

Rashad Butler OT 6-4 309 3rd Season Texans:
Butler is well-respected in the Texans organization because of his ability to overcome the disease: ulcerative colitis. This was the reason for Butler's inability to keep weight on during his days in Carolina. Since then he has been able to control the disease and played in 8 games in 2007. He didn't see much action in 2008, but look for the Texans to resign him for a league minimum resulting in 3 offensive lineman from the U on the Texans (Chris Myers, Eric Winston, Rashad Butler).

2009 EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS

Orien Harris DL6-3 300 1st Season Bengals:
Harris was a standout in Saints camp in 2008 and was surprisingly released before the season started. The Bengals though, snatched him up quickly and Harris saw action in 14 games and started Week 6 against the Jets. He is an exclusive rights free agent; the team has already signed FB/TE Daniel Coats, who was the other player in that category. Look for the Bengals to re-sign him and in the off chance they don't, the Saints will be in the running for his services.

RELEASED

Ken Dorsey QB 6-4 215 6th Season Browns:
Dorsey struggled towards the end of last year when he was forced into action for four of the last five games of the season throwing zero touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Dorsey has always been limited physically but has been a great tutor for Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. If he lands anywhere it will probably be with Rob Chudzinski and the San Diego Chargers to mentor Phillip Rivers.

Najeh Davenport RB 6-1 247 7th Season Colts:
Najeh played 4 games for the Steelers last year in the middle of the season after being released in the offseason. He was then released by the Steelers and signed by the Colts where he played in two games before being released before the start of the playoffs. Davenports has shown he can still play both as a running back and also as a kickoff return man. In week 17 he had 8 carries for 26 yards along with four receptions for 54 yards. The knock on Davenport has always been his ability to stay healthy and stay in shape. Look for him to get signed by someone in need of RB depth and also special teams player.

OT Rashad Butler got the highest grades in the O-line, and the more he plays, the more he looks like an absolutely steal. He was a 2006 third-round pick of the Panthers who was waived after a staph infection sidelined him pretty much his entire rookie season. With Charles Spencer gone and Ephraim Salaam injured, Butler may have found the perfect situation.

(blogs.chron.com)

With Ephraim Salaam out for three to four weeks and Scott Jackson sidelined because of a foot injury, the Texans signed veteran free-agent offensive tackle Torrin Tucker.

To make room for Tucker on the roster, running back Mike Bell was placed on waivers. Because running back Chris Brown has returned from a back injury, Bell was expendable.

Bell showed up out of shape and got hurt before he was waived. Tucker will suit up against Denver but won’t get in the game unless it’s an emergency. Left tackle Duane Brown will play the first half. He’ll be replaced by Rashad Butler.

“Everybody in the league’s working with these problems, and we’ve got to work through it,” coach Gary Kubiak said.

(chron.com)

With starting left tackle Travelle Wharton getting so much time off to rest his recovering knee, it's a little surprising that second-year tackle Rashad Butler hasn't gotten significant work with the first unit. Butler was a third-round pick last season, and the Panthers are said to think highly of him. It seems the depth on the offensive line might be costing him a closer look.

(charlotte.com)

Rashad Butler (6-4, 293, 2nd) Butler never got on the field his rookie season in spite of all the injuries. He actually went on injured reserve himself in December with a staph infection. Though I would say he’s a 100% lock to make the team he appears ready to climb the depth chart:

"I'm not worried about getting in shape because I'm getting a whole lot of reps. The main thing is just trying to focus when tired. That's the hard part." As he walked off the practice field, the sweat poured off the forehead of Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Rashad Butler like rainwater.

I know the word on Butler is he needed to add some strength and weight before getting on the field. Hopefully he’s done that this off-season. He has experience playing both tackle spots in college so the flexibility is a key. He’s obviously getting a chance to move up the depth chart though he’s sitting at the 4th or 5th tackle spot right now. He’s being groomed for the left tackle spot but he seems to be more of a right tackle to me. If he picks up the zone-blocking quickly he may get some plays this season. Expect to see plenty of him in preseason.

(catscratchreader.com)

With Wharton out of the lineup, Rashad Butler is lining up at left tackle for the first team offense. He was a third-round draft pick last year who is coming off the NFL equivalent of a redshirt season, having not entered a game as a rookie.

(charlotte.com)

Carolina created a roster spot, placing rookie tackle Rashad Butler on the reserve/non-football injury list. Butler, who has not played this season, has a staph infection.

(nfl.com)

Left tackle Travelle Wharton is out for the year with two torn ligaments in his left knee.

Wharton's injury, however, is more problematic for head coach John Fox. Carolina's offensive line didn't look so hot during the preseason and clearly struggled with Atlanta's pass rush. Now Fox has to retool this line and find a solution that will handle pass rushes from the Ravens, Steelers, Eagles, Redskins, even the Rams, which looks a lot stronger than last year, thanks to new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, the former Saints head coach who enjoyed several big wins over the Panthers in the last two years.

Expect both veteran tackle Todd Fordham and third-round draft pick Rashad Butler to see some action next week as Fox looks for a workable solution.

(aolsports.com)

He walked off the practice field Monday morning carrying the helmets of some of the veteran offensive linemen. This is Rashad Butler's role these days, and it's a far cry from when he was a star offensive tackle for the Miami Hurricanes.

"I love the role right now," said Butler, a rookie reserve for the Carolina Panthers. "But, eventually, I'm going to be ready to step out of that role and into another role."

A third-round draft pick in April, Butler is stuck behind Travelle Wharton and Jordan Gross, who are firmly entrenched as the starters for this season. If one of them were to get injured in the near future, Todd Fordham likely would be the fill-in for the short term.

But the Panthers didn't draft Butler for the short term. It was well-known around the league at the draft that Butler might be a bit of a project. The consensus among scouts is that the 6-foot-4, 305-pounder needs to bulk up before he's ready to handle the NFL's elite pass rushers.

The big surprise might be third-round pick Rashad Butler, an offensive tackle from Miami who is anything but a sure thing.

Butler is a project, and he needs to get into the weight room and add lower body strength before the team thinks of putting him on the field to protect Jake Delhomme.

If the Panthers cut Butler it will mark the second straight season a first-day draft pick has failed to make the opening day roster. A year ago, defensive tackle Atiyyah Ellison was the highest drafted NFL player (89th overall) to get cut.

Interestingly enough, Butler was drafted 89th overall this year.

In an ideal world the Panthers would probably like to cut Butler and sign him to the practice squad, but if they do they’ll run the risk of losing him to another team. So you never know, Butler could come down with one of those not-so-serious season-ending injuries — like struggling second-round draft pick Eric Shelton did a year ago — and be stashed away on injured reserve where nobody else in the league can touch him.
(jdnews.com)

The Panthers like the potential of former University of Miami offensive tackle Rashad Butler, a rookie third-round pick, but he probably won't play this season unless there's an emergency.
The Panthers want Butler to add size and strength, making this essentially a redshirt year for him.
(herald.com)