Newz Forum: FOOTBALL: Texans, Babin agree to multiyear deal

HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Texans have agreed to terms with first-round pick Jason Babin, signing the linebacker out of Western Michigan to a multiyear deal.

Babin is the first first-round pick to agree to terms with an NFL team, the second time in three seasons the Texans have been the first team in the league to lock up a first-round pick.
An afternoon news conference was scheduled to announce the deal. Financial terms were not available.

A star defensive end in college, Babin will be moved to outside linebacker with Houston.

The Texans trade their second-, third- and fourth-round choices to division rival Tennessee for the right to take Babin with the 27th overall pick. They had selected South Carolina cornerback Dunta Robinson with the 10th pick.

The 6-foot-2, 260-pound Babin is Western Michigan's all-time leader with 38 sacks and 75 tackles for loss. The Texans hope his mixture of size and agility will give them a legitimate pass rushing threat.

Houston also was first to come to terms with a first-rounder in its expansion year of 2002. The Texans already had a deal with quarterback David Carr when they drafted him with the top overall pick, and he signed later that day.