The Texans upgrades at receiver have been a hot topic in Houston the summer.
Rick Smith added first-round pick Will Fuller and third-round wild card Braxton Miller. Both offer intriguing elements of speed and open-field elusiveness to complement stud DeAndre Hopkins. The offseason hype for 2015 third-round pick Jaelen Strong has been off the chains this spring. Coach Bill O'Brien has praised the second-year player almost weekly during offseason workouts.
With the infusion of young potential, veteran Cecil Shorts was in danger of getting cut.
However, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports that this week Shorts signed a new contract with a pay cut to secure his roster spot, per a source who has seen the deal.
Shorts was scheduled to make $2.75 million in 2016. He'll now earn a $1.2 million base salary with a $500,000 roster bonus. He also has a chance to earn $250,000 total in per-game roster bonuses ($16,625 for each game he's active), per Rapoport.
Depending on how many of those bonuses Shorts earns, his pay cut will land between $1 million and $800,000.
Shorts doesn't offer the upside his younger counterparts provide to Brock Osweiler, but can be a steady hand out of the slot. The 28-year-old could very well start the season with a big role and see it reduced as the young bucks develop. He'll have to fend off Fuller and Strong for the No. 2 and 3 gigs.
Keeping Shorts in house entering his sixth year will ensure another veteran is in a youth-filled receivers room and insurance if the young projects take longer to grasp an NFL offense.
