NFL news items from the last few days:
Dallas - Cowboys sign DB Ken Hamlin. He will replace FS Pat Watkins and give the Cowboys one of the best secondaries in the league. Hamlin was the anchor of the Seahawks secondary and his statistics (96 tackles, two sacks, three interceptions) bear that out. Now he's playing with a group of defenders (Roy Williams, Terrance Newman and Anthony Henry) who can take care of themselves. Expect Hamlin's tackle totals to be lower than last year, though he's still a great DB for fantasy purposes.
Seattle - Seahawks resign WR Bobby Engram to a multi-year deal. We'll assume this means Engram is healthy and ready to play but even so Engram is no better than fourth on the Seahawks WR depth chart. So he missed half of last season with a thyroid condition, this coming season will be his 13th in the NFL, and he isn't starting. OK. It should be obvious, but Engram has no fantasy value right now.
Houston - The Texans release QB David Carr and RB Domanick Williams (formerly Domanick Davis). It's hard to believe that at the end of the 2005 season the Texans had a developing young quarterback (2488 pass yds, 14 TDs, 11 INT) and a promising running back (976 rush yds, 337 rec yds, 6 TDs) and now at the start of the 2007 season they have neither of those guys and nothing to show for it. Wow. What are the Texans doing? On the fantasy front, Williams will turn up in camp somewhere this summer, if he's healthy he may cling on to a team somewhere. It would be amazing if he had any fantasy value so don't hold your breath.
Carr is a different story. He's as talented as the starting quarterbacks on several other teams - off the top of my head: the Vikings, Lions and arguably the Texans - and he will find a place to play this season. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up starting this year. If you have Carr in a keeper/dynasty format hold on to him until you see where he lands. I think he will have a fantasy impact this season.