Matt Schaub Will Wear Silver And Black


Matt Schaub is going to be wearing the silver and black this fall. The Oakland Raiders announced Friday they have traded a sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft to the Houston Texans in exchange for quarterback Matt Schaub.

Last Thursday night the Houston Texans signed Ryan Fitzpatrick to a two-year deal. Since Fitzpatrick is set to be the Texans starting quarterback, Schaub became expendable to the team. The move also frees up room in the budget for Houston. Matt Schaub has a $14.5 million salary-cap figure and a $10 million base salary for 2014.

“A fresh start can do a lot of things for a player and a team and I’m one of those guys,” Schaub told ESPN. “Last year did not go as I had planned, given my prior nine years before that. I’m looking for a fresh start, I’m excited for the opportunity here.”

Raiders head coach Dennis Allen plans to start Schaub at quarterback since Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin were both inconsistent last year at the position.

“The quarterback position is the most important position on the football field,” Allen told ESPN. “We feel very confident that Matt Schaub is the guy that can come in and lead this football team. And he’s proven that he can do it in this league.”

The only other team that expressed interest in Matt Schaub was the Cleveland Browns. A move to the Browns would have reunited Schaub with his former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Unfortunately for the Browns, the Raiders made an offer as soon as they heard Schaub was available.

This trade may have interested ramifications in this year’s draft. Since both Oakland and Houston have top five picks and they both have already selected their starting quarterbacks it may affect how quarterbacks are selected this year. Neither team will be working under any pressure to use their first round pick on a quarterback.

According to CBS Sports, “The Raiders draft dynamic certainly changes. Three of our 2014 NFL Mock Drafts had the Raiders taking a quarterback (specifically, Johnny Manziel) in our latest update. Oakland still needs a passer of the future but Schaub’s presence means they could take talent over need when No. 5 rolls around, or even trade down and gamble that a passer will land in their lap later.”

The Raiders currently have three other quarterbacks in Pryor, McGloin and Trent Edwards. Coach Allen said recently that he wasn’t sure if any of these three could lead the team to the playoffs. With Matt Schaub being added to the roster one of these three may lose their job.

“We weren’t going to let last season deter us from the player and the track record that he has shown over his career,” offensive coordinator Greg Olson told ESPN. “He was our No. 1 target from day one, and it was just a matter of getting the deal done.”

Matt Schaub is a ten year veteran that led the Texans to AFC South Division titles in 2011 and 2012. Schaub was benched last season in favor of rookie Casee Keenum after struggling early on. He regained the starting job a few months later but could not prevent the Texans from completing the longest losing streak in franchise history, fourteen games.

“People look at Schaub and only look at his last year,” said Raiders safety Charles Woodson to ESPN, “I think they base his career off of his last year. But I see a guy that, in my opinion, has been very steady. He’s done some really good things throughout his time. Sometimes you just need a fresh start, a new set of circumstances to restart, to restart your history. Hopefully this is the place that he can get it done.”

Matt Schaub, a 32-year-old two-time pro-bowler spent the past seven seasons as the Texans’ starting quarterback and has eclipsed 4,000 passing yards twice in his career.

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