NO DEAL!
An insight into why the Packers passed on Will Fuller and the Texans
Nov 4, 2020, 12:55 pm
The Texans and Packers couldn't agree on a trade. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images
Coming into the season, the Houston Texans had high expectations for Will Fuller. For the first time in his career, Fuller had an opportunity to prove himself as a top-tier receiver — given the absence of DeAndre Hopkins. While playing out the final year of his rookie contract, Fuller has flourished in his new role.
The 26-year-old wideout is on pace to record a career-best in receiving yards, while showing his improved durability playing in all seven games so far this season. Alas, Fuller's on-field production has not converted into wins for the Texans.
Houston enters Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars sitting at 1-6 on the season. Their atrocious record led to the general belief that the organization would be sellers at the trade deadline. Among the many players projected to be on the move was Fuller.
Several teams around the league had their eyes set on making a trade for the Notre Dame prodigy, but none more so than the Green Bay Packers — who expressed interest in adding Fuller's services alongside their All-Pro receiver Davante Adams. A depleted roster and lack of draft capital would have resulted in most teams taking any deal to recoup some assets. But interim head coach Romeo Crennel refused to make any substantial offer for peanuts.
"I wouldn't even put the No. 1 wide receiver label on me," Fuller said. I feel like we all can get it done. I don't have any added pressure. We're just out there having fun trying to get a win."
In any potential deal regarding Fuller, the Texans were seeking a second-round pick in return. The lofty asking price is the motive to why the Packers organization disagreed on whether or not to make a move for Fuller during the final hours of the trade deadline — according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.
In hindsight, it made sense for the Packers to stand pat and not mortgage their future in a trade for Fuller. Had Green Bay sent a second-round pick to Houston, the Packers might have fallen short of getting equal value in exchange.
Fuller's durability has been the pinnacle of his success this season, but it doesn't erase the injury-prone stigma that has plagued his career thus far. In addition to his health, does the acquisition of Fuller put the Packers closer to holding the Vince Lombardi Trophy? Not really. Adding a playmaker like Fuller would have undoubtedly improved Green Bay's chances, but not enough to push the Packers ahead of the Buccaneers and Seahawks.
However, the Packers' most significant reason why they elected not to make a deal for Fuller may center round his pending free agency. With Fuller scheduled to become a free agent at the conclusion of the season, there is a high possibility that the fifth-year receiver could have been an end-of-the-season rental for the Packers.
Given all the uncertainties, the Packers felt it was more reasonable for them to pass on Fuller. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, Green Bay was not the only team unwilling to pay the Texans' high asking price, as teams offered fourth and fifth-round picks for the Philadelphia native.
"I told him [Fuller] that I wanted him on the team, and I wanted all of these guys on the team," Crennel said during his media availability on Wednesday. "I did not want to trade anybody. Plus, I said I wasn't taking peanuts, and nobody came through with a deluxe nuts package. If there had been some deluxe nuts laid out there on the table, it could have been a different deal."
Coty M. Davis is a reporter for ESPN 97.5 Houston/SportsMap covering the Houston Texans. He is also the co-host of Locked On Texans, a part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Follow Coty on Twitter @CotyDavis_24.
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Alex Bregman couldn’t hold back the smile when he was asked who might have had the biggest impact on his decision to sign with the Boston Red Sox.
“My favorite player Dustin Pedroia,” Bregman said of the club's former second baseman and two-time World Series champion.
“He reached out a few times this offseason and talked about how special it was to be a part of the Boston Red Sox,” Bregman said Sunday. “It was really cool to be able to talk to him as well as so many other former players here in Boston and current players on the team as well.”
A day after Bregman's $120 million, three-year contract was announced, he sat at a 25-minute news conference between his agent, Scott Boras, and Boston Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow. Manager Alex Cora, who gave Bregman a hug after he handed the infielder his No. 2 jersey, also was at the table along with team president Sam Kennedy.
Breslow and Cora wouldn't say whether Bregman would move to play second base, Pedroia's position, or remain at third — a position manned by Rafael Devers since July 2017.
A few players, Jarren Duran and Rob Refsnyder among them, and coaches stood behind the seated reporters to listen.
Bregman gets a $5 million signing bonus, a $35 million salary this season and $40 million in each of the following two years, with some of the money deferred, and he can opt out after the 2025 and 2026 seasons to become a free agent again.
Asked why he agreed to the shorter contract with opt outs, he leaned forward to the microphone in front of him and replied: “I just think I believe in my abilities.”
Originally selected by Boston in the 29th round of the 2012 amateur draft, Bregman attended LSU before the Houston Astros picked him second overall in 2015. His family history with the Red Sox goes back further.
“My dad grew up sitting on Ted Williams’ lap,” he said.
MLB.com said Stan Bregman, the player's grandfather, was a lawyer who represented the Washington Senators and negotiated Williams' deal to become manager.
Boston has missed the playoffs in five of the last six seasons and had avoided signing the highest-profile free agents. Boras said a conversation with Red Sox controlling owner John Henry showed ownership’s desire to get back to winning.
“I think it was after Soto signed,’’ Boras said, citing the record contract he negotiated for Juan Soto with the Mets. “We had a discussion. I could tell knowing John back with the Marlins and such, he had a real onus about ‘we need to do things differently than what we’ve done before.’
“This is a point and time where I believe Red Sox ownership was hungry for championship play and exhausted with what had happened the last five, six years.”
Called the “perfect fit” by Breslow, the 30-year-old Bregman joined the Red Sox after winning two World Series titles and reaching the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons with Houston.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the playoffs the first eight years of my career, and I plan on continuing to do that here,” he said in his opening remarks. “I’m a winning player and this is a winning organization.”
Coming off an 81-81 season, the Red Sox acquired left-hander Garrett Crochet from the White Sox and signed fellow pitchers Walker Buehler, Patrick Sandoval, Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson during the offseason.
After the pitching moves, they found a right-handed bat, too.
“As the offseason progressed it just became clearer and clearer that Alex was the perfect fit for what we were trying to accomplish,” Breslow said.
Bregman ranks first among players with at least 75 career plate appearances in Fenway Park with an OPS of 1.240.
“He fits like a glove for our organization,” Kennedy said.