The big news out of the NFL yesterday was that the NFL and the NFLPA agreed to sit down for seven straight days of mediation that has no binding power. Everyone seems to have their own take on what this means to the labor negotiations, and our very own Stephanie Stradley does a good job breaking it down with her opinion. While I find it mildly encouraging that they actually agreed to something, I don't really care to pay a lot of attention to these mediated negotiations.
Either side can walk away before the end of the seven day session, and as I and everyone else has mentioned, the mediator can only suggest solutions, which can then be ignored by either side. With two sides that don't seem to be grounded in reality right now (one more so than the other), that doesn't sound like recipe for success. I write about football because I find it interesting. While I pay attention to the details of the labor negotiation because football next season hangs in the balance, I found nothing interesting about two sides arguing over revenue. For that reason, I take the "wake me when we have a deal" approach rather than get excited or discouraged by every new event.
For news links that affect your Houston Texans outside of the labor negotiations, follow the jump.
One unknown aspect of the new collective bargaining agreement is the salary cap. As Rivers McCown points out, the Texans have the sixth-highest payroll going into next season, so a return to a cap system similar to what was in place before would have big implications on free agent spending.
Arian Foster is an exclusive rights free agent who can reasonably expect the Texans to try and sign him to a long-term deal. He went on NFLN Total Access yesterday and discussed running in the zone-blocking scheme as well as his relationship with Priest Holmes, who went undrafted as well.
One player that the Texans were reportedly interested in for the zone blocking system was Denver right tackle Ryan Harris, who the Broncos tried to trade last season but failed. What does this say about the organization's confidence in Eric Winston?
Reggie Herring alluded that the Texans feel more comfortable with Brian Cushing on the inside rather than the outside in the new 3-4, and Patrick from the Texans Tribune brings up five questions based on that assumption. Patrick also explains why it's not so bad being a Texans fan.
Paul Kuharsky dissected the Vance Joseph interview with the official site and gave his opinion on some of the topics.
The Texans will surely draft at least one or two defensive backs in the coming draft, and Wes Bunting has some of the most intriguing players after round one which includes a few defensive backs. Wes also ranked his top 3-4 defensive prospects and gave us a heads up on draft rumors swirling around the league. Wes does a great job at National Football Post, and he has graciously agreed to give Battle Red Blog an interview. Stay tuned.