Texans bypass Bush to sign Williams

HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Texans got the NFL draft off to a stunning start a day early, bypassing Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and instead signing defensive end Mario Williams with the No. 1 pick Friday night.
Houston started negotiating with both Williams and Bush this week. While many expected the Southern California running back to be the Texans' choice, they went for the North Carolina State lineman instead.
"This is a decision that took a lot of time to make, but at the end of the day we felt this was the best player for our football team," general manager Charley Casserly said. "Both players, Reggie Bush and Mario Williams, are going to, I think, be great pros. We made the decision to go with defense."
The Texans signed Williams to a six-year, $54 million contract, with $26.5 million guaranteed. San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith, the top pick in last year's draft, got a six-year, $49.5 million contract from the 49ers, with $24 million guaranteed.
Casserly said that the team has long been interested in Williams and the move should not be that surprising.
"I think if people had just listened to what we had said, they would have seen that we were serious about Mario Williams," he said. "Once we brought him in here our statements never changed that we were seriously considering him for the first pick in the draft and I understand that people didn't believe it, but we always said it and we believed it."
The Texans' move left the New Orleans Saints with an opportunity to take Bush as the No. 2 pick. Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said Friday night the team had no comment.
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