2002 NFL expansion draft

Rules of the draft

Process

Each NFL team listed five players that the Texans could select, After the Texans selected a player from an existing team, that team could remove a player from their remaining list. If a second player was taken, the existing team could then pull back its remaining players. However, teams were not required to remove players from the draftable list, resulting in three Jets and three Jaguars being drafted to the Texans. The Texans were prohibited from selecting a player from a team and trading the player back to that club.

Player limitations

Existing teams were not allowed to put punters or kickers on the list, nor any player from their 2001 roster who would have become an unrestricted free agent in 2002. They could not list players who went on injured reserve during the 2001 summer's training camp nor any player who would become a restricted free agent after the 2001 season. Their list could include only one player with more than 10 years' experience.

At least one player who met two of those exemptions (placekicker and restricted free agent) still ended up with the Texans, as the team signed Kris Brown to a contract after his old team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, chose not to match his offer sheet after Brown struggled the year before in the Steelers first season at Heinz Field. Brown would be the Texans primary place kicker through the 2009 season, while the Texans did not draft anyone from the Steelers unprotected list in the expansion draft.

Salary cap ramifications

Some teams used the expansion draft as a way to eliminate expensive veteran players from their salary caps, because the Texans assumed the contracts of the players they selected, including all future portions of their signing bonuses and any guarantees or other terms. The Jets left Aaron Glenn unprotected although it wanted to keep him, because the team hoped that the Texans would not want Glenn's $8 million salary-cap figure for 2002; the Texans ultimately selected and kept Glenn through the 2004 season, though Glenn (after retiring as a player and going into coaching) eventually returned to the Jets in 2025 as their head coach.

If the Texans cut a selection and he re-signed with his old team, the existing team re-assumed his signing bonus. Extra bonuses that did not count against the Texans' salary cap were given to veteran players who were selected. Those selected received $10,000 immediately, an additional $20,000 bonus for reporting to training camp, and another $30,000 for making the active roster during the regular season.

Player selections

References

;General

;Specific

References

1. "Houston Texans – Pro Football Hall of Fame". Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2. "2000-2002 Texans Transactions". Houston Texans.
3. (February 18, 2002). "2002 expansion draft: Veteran players drafted by Houston Texans". ProFootballWeekly.
4. (September 5, 2002). "Houston Texans Expansion Draft Choices".
5. (February 18, 2002). "Boselli Leads Texans' Expansion Draft". CBS-KGTV San Diego.
6. Gosselin, Rick. (January 6, 2002). "As Texans expand, others' caps shrink". Dallas Morning News.
7. Pennington, Bill. (January 23, 2002). "Pro Football; N.F.L. Expansion Draft: Big Names on the List". New York Times.
8. (February 18, 2002). "List of players exposed to Houston expansion draft". Pro Football Weekly.
9. (February 17, 2002). "Houston Texans Expansion Draft List".
10. Buchsbaum, Joel. (February 25, 2002). "Player-by-player analysis of Texans' expansion draft". Pro Football Weekly.
11. (February 19, 2002). "NFL Texans draft Boselli, Wuerffel". CBC News.
12. Clayton, John. (February 14, 2002). "NFL – Rules of expansion". ESPN.
13. (2024-01-17). "Texans select Boselli with top pick".