Osweiler to Texans is biggest of moves

Brock Osweiler left Denver. Doug Martin remained in Tampa.

Alex Mack left Cleveland and DeMarco Murray was traded to Tennessee. Mike Tolbert remained in Carolina.

In a flurry of shuffling and staying put, NFL free agency began Wednesday.

And the Super Bowl winner lost its second quarterback in less than a week, while the loser of the big game held on to two key performers.

With Peyton Manning retired, his supposed successor Brock Osweiler headed to Houston. Broncos defensive end Malik Jackson went to Jacksonville, and linebacker Danny Trevathan is now in Chicago. Denver clearly has been weakened.

At least Super Bowl MVP Von Miller has been franchise tagged and won't be going anywhere.

"We've stayed true to our philosophy of building a team of players who want to be Denver Broncos and want to be here. That's been a successful approach for us," General Manager John Elway said.

Osweiler appeared in eight games with seven starts last season for the Broncos. He started the last seven games of the regular season, but was benched in favor of Manning for the postseason.

But the 6-7, 240-pound quarterback showed enough in that short stint after spending his first three pro seasons on the bench behind Manning that the Texans went all-in.

The agreement between Osweiler and the Texans is for approximately $18 million per season, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. ESPN reported that the contract will pay Osweiler $72 million over four years. The Broncos apparently were unwilling to offer more than $16 million per year, and Denver's proposal contained a total of about $30 million in guaranteed money, roughly $7 million less than Osweiler will get in his Houston deal.

Carolina, meanwhile retained All-Pro fullback Mike Tolbert and re-signed defensive end Charles Johnson to a lower salary Wednesday.

All-Pro running back Martin re-signed with the Buccaneers for five years. Center Mack chose Atlanta over Cleveland in other major moves.