Quarterback Drew Henson will get his chance to play in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas acquired Henson from the Houston Texans on Friday for a third-round pick in the 2005 draft. Henson then agreed to an eight-year deal with the Cowboys, his agent, Tom Condon said.

Henson was selected in the sixth round by the Texans in last year’s draft. Houston, which already has David Carr at quarterback, planned all along to deal the former Michigan starter who spent three full-time seasons playing baseball in the New York Yankees’ organization.

Three other teams expressed serious interest in Henson: Cleveland, St. Louis and Buffalo. Henson, 24, worked out for 20 teams in Houston earlier this offseason.

On Thursday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was intrigued by Henson, who worked out for Dallas on March 1. And on Friday, Jones worked out an eight-year deal, with the final four years voidable.

Henson will get a guaranteed $3.5 million, the most ever for a sixth-round pick. He’ll earn the minimum rookie salary of $228,000 this season, but with attainable incentives he can easily increase his earnings over the length of the deal.

Neither team would comment on the deal Friday. Paperwork on the contract was expected to be complete some time next week.

The Texans used the first of their two sixth-round picks last year on Henson, betting he would have another disappointing season in the Yankees’ farm system and would decide to give up the $12 million remaining on his baseball deal and return to football.

General manager Charley Casserly’s gambit paid off in early February when Henson did just that. The Cowboys were among 20 teams who sent representatives to Houston on Feb. 12 to watch an open workout in the Texans’ practice bubble, with assistant head coach Sean Payton leading a three-man contingent.

Henson had one stellar season at Michigan in 2000 and was projected to be a top draft pick in 2002 if he had another good year with the Wolverines. Instead, he signed with the Yankees as their third baseman of the future and left school.

But his choppy fielding and free swinging never improved, The club showed its patience had worn thin when it traded for third baseman Aaron Boone last year. When Boone suffered a season-ending knee injury this winter, New York made it clear Henson would not be considered and eventually traded for Alex Rodriguez.

“Michigan, the Yankees and the Cowboys. That’s a pretty talented athlete to be with those teams,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “I’m happy for him. He was in a position where he had some control of his situation. He’s with a good organization and good coach (Bill Parcells).”

Henson, mired in a deep slump to start the 2003 season at Triple-A Columbus, insisted he was committed to baseball when the Texans selected him. He finished the year with a .234 average and 122 strikeouts, and in a six-year minor-league career whiffed 556 times in 501 games.

The deal means Dallas has three former minor-league baseball players at the quarterback position. Starter Quincy Carter played in the Chicago Cubs’ organization in 1996, ’97 and ’98.

Dallas signed former Stanford quarterback Chad Hutchinson before the 2002 season after he gave up on a career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

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