"For safety Danieal Manning, the choice was simple when he became an unrestricted free agent last spring.

If he wasn't going to re-sign with the Chicago Bears, with whom he spent the first four years of his career, the Corsicana native wanted to come home.

That put the Dallas Cowboys, the team he rooted for as a kid and one in desperate need of safety help, at the top of his wish list.

But after contacting the Cowboys through his agent, Russell Hicks, and getting no response -- likely because his asking price was too high --Manning turned to option No. 2: the Houston Texans.

Clearly, it worked out for the best."