Nnamdi Asomugha just lost a member to his bidding war party. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Houston Texans have agreed to terms with former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Jonathan Joseph. Joseph was almost universally considered to be the second most sought after corner on the free agent market. And he was certainly paid like it. John McClain tweeted:
Joseph gets 5 years, $48.75 million and $23.5 guaranteed, including $12.5 signing bonus.
The thought had been that one of the teams that lost out on Nnamdi would begin bidding on Joseph.
The move is curious, given that all reports leading up to this point indicated that the Texans were going all out for Nnamdi. One report came from Michael Lombardi via Twitter
"Hearing Houston has moved into the lead for Nnamdi Asomugha—money will be in the 12-14 mill per year range...Revis makes 11.5 per year."
So why did the Texans all of a sudden back out? Jump over...
My guess is that the bidding for Nnamdi got too steep or he flat out told them he wasn't going there. The other two teams that have been widely reported to be bidding for Nnamdi's services are the 49ers and the Jets. If you've missed any of this backstory be sure to check out our continually updated post of all Asomugha rumors.
Whatever the case, I do not see the Texans backing out unless Nnamdi is on the verge of signing with someone else.
Is it possible that that someone else is the Oakland Raiders? There are unconfirmed rumblings that the Raiders have cut loose Chris Johnson. While they likely have had this move in the works for a long time, I find it hard to believe that they would just cut him loose without having a replacement player in mind.
We had previously heard that they had been talking to Antonio Cromartie, but maybe—just maybe—they have put together a contract for Nnamdi. Obviously, this is all pure speculation.
I do feel safe in saying that a deal for Nnamdi must be close. Whichever team he winds up playing for.
Get all the latest news, info and rumors regarding the Raiders free agents and the players they are targeting.