Reggie Bush is a legend in New Orleans, winning the Superbowl XLIV against the Colts, but it could all have been very different if the Texans signed him.
Houston had the overall first draft pick in 2006 and surprisingly passed up Bush, a star Trojans running back and Heisman winner.
Bush was not sure why he was overlooked by the Texans, and after years of conjecture he admitted on the Dan Patrick Show the reason behind the shock Texans decision.
He was guilty of receiving $300,000 from two sports marketers and rent-free housing at USC and lost his Heisman Trophy.
“You wanna know the truth? The truth is with (former Houston Texans general manager) Charlie Casserly,” Bush told Patrick.
“He hasn’t talked about it. We actually had the opportunity to discuss it when I was working for NFL Network because one of the executives found out the truth, and I hadn’t even known the truth yet about why I didn’t go to Houston.
“Apparently, it was because they hired a private investigator to investigate me during the Heisman Trophy debacle that was happening at that time.”
The New Orleans Hall of Famer continued, “An investigator came back and said that I was a bad guy, I had bad character, I was a street kid, and that they shouldn’t sign me; they shouldn’t draft me. And so, this is a story that I’m getting from one of the executives at NFL Network.
“They wanted to do this 1-on-1 with me and Charlie Casselry and just kind of talk about it. At first, Casserly said yeah, and then he ended up backing out because I think he understood it probably wasn’t going to look good for him.”
The move to the Saints turned out to be a significant break for Bush as he was welcomed with much fanfare and delivered a Superbowl in 2010.
“It was one of my favorite moments,” Bush said. “You talk about surreal moments; that was a surreal moment, me going to New Orleans because I was supposed to be the No. 1 draft pick – I don’t know if you remember.
He would go on to play for the Dolphins, Lions, 49ers and Bills before hanging his boots up after 13 seasons.
“Mario Williams ended up being the No. 1 draft pick. I actually found out the same way everybody else found out; I found out on SportsCenter.”
Bush would end up rushing for 5,490 yards and 3,598 receiving yards.
