Former Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman signed with the Houston Texas on Friday. Grossman had spent the last six years with the Bears but was not resigned. He will now compete with Dan Orlovsky for the backup quarterback job behind starter Matt Schaub. “I’m going to be a good soldier, but at the same time, I am going to compete and do the best I can,” Grossman said. “They’ve got their starter and they brought in Dan Orlovsky. I am just going to get in the mix and see where I fit in.” Houston is considered a longshot in NFL betting futures at greater than 30-1 in NFL odds at the sportsbook.
Grossman has thrown for 6,164 yards and 33 touchdowns in his career as NFL betting numbers show. His best year was in 2006 when he threw for 3,193 yards and 23 touchdowns as the Bears won the NFC North in NFL odds and made the Super Bowl.
Houston is expected to carry three quarterbacks so it is likely that Grossman will be on the team even if he does not beat out Orlovsky for the backup job. Orlovsky signed a three-year deal with Houston for about $9 million as NFL betting information tells us, so Grossman does have his work cut out to win the backup job.
Grossman was somewhat surprised to have landed in Houston. “I have been a free agent now for a couple of months,” Grossman said. “There have been some teams that I almost went to, but it didn’t happen. A couple of days ago, actually, I got a call from my agent (Drew Rosenhaus) that Houston was interested and that coach (Gary) Kubiak would be calling. I didn’t expect anything for a couple of days. I went home to Indianapolis and on my flight, I guess, the whole deal got done. As soon as I landed in Indianapolis, I was a Houston Texan.”
Grossman may be able to do well in Kubiak’s system and the change of scenery should definitely help him. Getting out of Chicago was definitely something that Grossman needed. He still has a big arm and could be important in Houston especially with Schaub’s tendency to get hurt. “I feel like I can throw the ball deep and make plays,” Grossman said. “That’s really what I want to do. I’d like to think that when called upon, I can make big plays and do my job.” Houston is given a chance in the AFC to make some noise in NFL betting in 2009 at the online sportsbook.