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It’s a sad day here at PFT headquarters.
The Texans have announced that they’ve cut offensive lineman Steve McKinney, who joined the team when it was founded in 2002 after starting his career with the Indianapolis Colts.
McKinney will be more remembered in these parts as the first active player who acknowledged to us that he reads the site, and he has been a good friend of the site (but never a source) for the past five-plus years.
He was the first unrestricted free agent signed by the Texans franchise, and he played in 83 games during his six seasons in Houston. In our view, the team’s release announcing the transaction doesn’t begin to do justice to his contributions to the expansion franchise.
March 25th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
As a Houstonian and avid Texans fan, I can say that I am honestly puzzled by this move. Steve may not have been immune from mistakes or injury, but he was one of the most reliable performers. He was a consistent performer on our weakest area. I can only hope that he will be a Texan in the future.
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March 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
It is a sad day here in Houston as well. You may remember Steve because he told people he read this site, but the people of Houston will remember him for much much more. He brought both talent and intelligence to his profession and to the Houston Texans. He brought hope and a ray of light to a countless number of Houston people who needed help and someone to provide hope. He was great for the Texans, and fantastic for the community. How the Texans can let him go with no fanfare or thankyou is beyond me, and they have lost much of the faith and trust that the organization has built over their years in existance. Steve gave his all, and he deserves better. I realize the business of running the business - but some things and some people deserve far more recognition than that given to Steve by the Texans.
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March 25th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
It makes perfect sense from a football standpoint. He makes too much money to come off the bench, and there’s a fairly good chance that he’s going to sign a new contract with the team and come off the bench.
From a PR standpoint, I’d hate to see him go, but I certainly couldn’t blame him if he felt slighted by the move and went somewhere else. He certainly deserves more of a ’send-off’ than he got - but he still might come back.
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March 26th, 2008 at 6:50 am
The Houston O-line has traditionally been one of the worst in the league. Having a deer in headlights as the franchise QB for several years didn’t help. The Texans have tried to add guys like Charles Spencer in the draft to bolster the line and it’s coming around. Ephraim Salaam is still a perennial risk to eat himself off the roster. McKinney was a sentimental favorite. But sentimental won’t get you to the playoffs.
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