FanHouse Afc South

Send your NFL questions (along with your name and location) to NFLFanHouse@gmail.com. Each Thursday, we'll answer the best -- or, if nothing else, most entertaining -- in our NFL Mailbag.

Excluding Brett Favre, which remaining free agent can play the biggest role in 2009?

The easy answer (INCLUDING Brett Favre!!) is Plaxico Burress. He's a high-ceiling, high-impact wide receiver. You saw the way the Giants' offense missed him at the end of 2008, and we've seen a handful of teams express interest in him -- even though nobody knows if he's going to play in 2009. If he is allowed to play, he's your answer. But it looks increasingly likely that he'll be suspended for at least part of the season, if not all. So in the non-Burress division, I have three veterans who could make an interesting impact in the right situation:

LenDale White doesn't look like the LenDale White we're used to seeing. White told The Tennessean that he's weighing in at only 229 pounds this offseason, way short of the 260 he's weighed at times throughout his pro career.

A 230-pound White should still be big enough to move the pile, but he may actually be able to make a couple of guys miss for a change, too. But there is the question of White's motivation, which is brought up in Jim Wyatt's story.

A couple of months ago, the list of Steelers free agents after the 2009 season looked downright frightening. But slowly and surely, Pittsburgh is whittling down its collection of potential departures.

First the Steelers re-signed left tackle Max Starks to a four-year extension, now there's word that they are working on a long-term deal with free safety Ryan Clark. The news comes from the NFL Network's Jason La Canfora (as relayed by Pro Football Talk).

Let's be honest, there are few things more entertaining in sports than when an athlete is absolutely despised by a city. And I don't mean despised in the Michael Jordan-tears-out-Cleveland's-heart-with-a-wooden-spoon level hate. That's rooted in Jordan's superhuman play on the field.

I mean on a level like LenDale White stomping on the Terrible Towel and refusing to apologize -- where the entire city is outraged at one particular player.

The Texans signed kicker Kris Brown to a four year, $10 million dollar extension. This includes $2.5 million dollar guaranteed, making him one of the best paid kickers in the league.

This happens to refute linebacker DeMeco Ryans' recent contention that the Texans don't reward their own players. Ryans and the Texans are working on a long term deal, and Ryans is a little grumpy that TE Owen Daniels, CB Dunta Robinson and he don't have them worked out yet. Maybe they are next in line? After a kicker?

One question is whether Brown's accurate performance of the last two years is going to continue. As FootballGuys.com notes, Brown has improved in scoring performance every year as a Texan, especially so since his scoring opportunities improved after Gary Kubiak took over head coaching duties.

Texans tight end Owen Daniels signed his restricted free agent tender, worth $2.79 million, with the hopes he could still negotiate a longer-term deal with the team. ProFootballTalk is suggesting that the Texans aren't interested in further contract negotiations, given Daniels' expectations.

Typically, the Texans tend to keep contract negotiations pretty quiet, so judge this information as you will. The Houston Chronicle says that the Texans offered Daniels enough money to make him the second-highest paid tight end in the league. PFT, meanwhile. says the offer would make Daniels the fourth-highest paid at his position, but that Daniels wants to be the top-paid tight end in the league. Really?

David Anderson is a backup wide receiver for the Houston Texans who has scored exactly three touchdowns in his career. He's made the most of those touchdowns, as he got the attention of Conan O'Brien for doing a Conan string dance as a touchdown celebration. Above is a bravely funny instructional video Anderson recently did to teach others his sassy string dance moves.

Houston, we have a Sex Cannon!

It looks like free-agent quarterback Rex Grossman finally found a home for the 2009 season on Thursday. The Houston Chronicle and Drew Rosenhaus' Twitter page are reporting that the former Bears signal-caller will sign a one-year, $620,000 contract pending a physical on Friday. The team hasn't made any comment, citing a policy of not commenting until a deal has been officially signed.

If Grossman indeed joins the Texans, it would be a surprising change of direction for Houston.

Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels joined cornerback Dunta Robinson in skipping out of voluntary OTAs as a contract holdout. His Facebook page explains:

"Decided not to show up for practice because of my contract situation. I would much rather bet there, but I'm not getting the fairness I was hoping for on the business end of things. I really hope we can agree on something soon."

Actually, it was somewhat surprising that he attended all the OTAs without a new contract given that he risked injury by doing so. Negotiating an extension for Daniels is difficult because of the absurd money that Tampa Bay gave Kellen Winslow.

Though many of the players from the perennially playoff-bound Indianapolis Colts are still around, it's a new era in Colts camp these days. The turnover on the coaching staff has been vast, especially for a team who has seemingly gone 12-4 in their sleep for all of recent memory -- and it goes all the way to the top. With a new head coach and two new coordinators, the players have some adjusting to do.

On the defensive side of the ball, former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders appears to believe in his new defensive boss, former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer.