I was a bit worried with the potential of the Texans re-signing Jacoby Jones this offseason. Not because I don't enjoy his presence on Twitter, or because I don't think highly of his abilities, but because Rick Smith hasn't exactly been one to hand out suave contracts to retain players (see: Owen Daniels) of semi-importance or better.

So I was pleasantly surprised to see the terms of the Jones and Rashad Butler deals when I woke up this morning. Three years and $10.5 million for Jones, with $3.5 million of that guaranteed, is probably more than I would've offered him. But that is more because I don't see the point in paying for a dimension this team doesn't use, and not because I don't think Jacoby is probably worth that money on the open market. It's on the lower-end of what I thought he might get from some receiver-desperate team with a love for measurables.

Ditto Butler, who re-signed for two years and $3.8 million, $1.25 million of which is guaranteed. It seemed to be almost a foregone conclusion that the Texans would have to find a new swing tackle with Butler's third round pedigree and his decent-but-not-great stint filling in for Duane Brown last year. Instead, I might even go as far as to call this deal a bargain for Rick Smith. I was worried when I heard about it, that re-signing Butler might be a sign that the Texans were out of the running for the great Nnamdi hunt of 2011, instead funneling their money to the decent-sized contracts it would take to keep their own. Relieved that this did not come to pass...yet.

So here we go, riding with the old guard again. What are your thoughts on da black knights about to be hittin' the Reliant streets again?