Texans trade Rosenfels to Vikings

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In his three seasons with the Texans, Rosenfels completed 297 of 453 passes for 3,380 yards and 24 touchdowns.

The Texans traded quarterback Sage Rosenfels to the Minnesota Vikings, who gave up their fourth-round draft choice in the 2009 NFL Draft to acquire him.

The trade became official Friday after reports of the deal surfaced earlier this week in various media outlets.

Rosenfels, 30, had one year remaining on his deal with Houston. According to a source, he flew to Minnesota on Thursday and agreed to a three-year contract with the team on Friday.

There were reports last offseason that the Vikings were interested in acquiring Rosenfels, but no agreement was reached between the teams.

According to comments made by Rosenfels' agent, Rick Smith (no relation to Texans general manager Rick Smith) in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday, this deal was in the works for a while.

"We've been working on this (deal) for a couple of years," Smith said. "He's being brought up there to compete. He's not being handed the starting spot. He feels pretty good about the situation because he's coming out of a West Coast offense (in Houston) and he's a West Coast quarterback. Playing with this team, with Adrian Peterson behind him, with the defense the way it is, playing in a dome, it's like a home run for him. He's a Midwest kid and he's going back to the Midwest."

Rosenfels attended Iowa State and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins the following year in exchange for a draft pick. After seeing little action in his four seasons in Miami, he signed with the Texans in 2006.

In three seasons with the Texans, Rosenfels completed 297-of-453 passes for 3,380 yards and 24 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He was at his best in big games, leading the Texans to wins in two nationally televised games in the past two seasons. He completed 14-of-24 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown in the team's 30-17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday Night Football in 2008.

Rosenfels, an eight-year veteran, wanted to compete for a starting position and is expected to get that chance in Minnesota, where he will challenge Tarvaris Jackson for the starting role.

The Texans now will have eight selections in this year's draft, including two in the fourth round because of the Rosenfels trade.

The trade is the 21st in Texans history and the seventh under general manager Rick Smith. This marks the third consecutive year in which the Texans have traded to acquire additional draft picks.

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