Although it was met with quite a bit of hand-wringing and "Orlovksy must look terrible" yelps, I think Rex Grossman's arrival in H-Town is going to end up a non-story. Remember when Quinn Gray signed a one-year deal with your Houston Texans in March of 2008? Many of us breathlessly wondered whether a trade of Sage Rosenfels was imminent, or whether Gray was Schaub insurance, or whether Kubes was serious about carrying three QBs on the active roster. And what happened? Gray got cut before he ever took a preseason snap.
Now, a little more than a year later, Rex Grossman signs a one-year deal with the Texans, and the cycle begins anew, complete with Kubes repeating his intent to dress three QBs. The only real difference from last year is the dramatically decreased, dare I say negligible, possibility of the incumbent No. 2 quarterback being dealt, replaced by the reality that the organization just gave pretty decent guaranteed money to Dan Orlovsky to get him in a Texans uniform. It's a bit early for buyer's remorse, isn't it? Orlovsky hasn't even put the pads on yet. Honestly, I find it hard to imagine that Smithiak or anyone else would tacitly admit they whiffed so badly on a high-dollar free agent acquisition that they'd be lining up his replacement before training camp began.
Thus, like Quinn Gray, I'm betting that Rex Grossman will be little more than a camp body. From the organization's perspective, bringing Grossman to town is a great move. He's been a starter and has playoff experience. We can say what we want about the guy, but that doesn't grow on trees. For the one-year minimum, why not bring Grossman in?
Truth be told, I'm shocked that Grossman couldn't find a better situation than Houston. Because when it all shakes out, I'd wager the 2009 Houston Texans depth chart at QB looks eerily similar to the 2008 depth chart--Matt Schaub's name at the top, followed by a quarterback with a trisyllabic surname and nothing else.