Only 2 QBs total on the entire roster? The roster churn in the post-cutdown chaos is effectively over. Houston has its 53-man roster and 16-man practice squad situated. Yet, among all of the players that can call Houston their team, the squad will only have 2 active QBs (Stroud, Mills), and as of this writing, ZERO QBs on the practice squad. The primary reason for that situation is that presumed QB3 Graham Mertz suffered a season-ending ACL tear in the 1st preseason game. QB Brett Rypien was called
off the couch to play in Houston’s final two preseason games, but not 48 hours after his final play (strip-sack fumble), Rypien was gone. Granted, a QB3 is not usually the highest depth priority for a team. With Houston, depth pieces along the lines, defense and special teams ability dictated much of their personnel actions.
While the Texans likely have a list of QB names they can call should the need arise to get an arm on the roster during the season, said player will likely be at more of a disadvantage if they take live snaps. Being a backup is hard enough, but it is that much harder if you are just trying to learn the playbook and lingo, to say nothing of diagnosing a complicated NFL defense. With Mertz on IR for the season, Houston might have at least considered one QB to store on the practice squad to have some familiarity with the system. Especially when you factor that Stroud has missed games in 2 of his 3 seasons due to concussions, Mills might have to play some games. If Mills is the sole QB option after Stroud, that can be a lot of risk for a team, even with a defense like Houston’s.
Watch the O-line…again. Hasn’t that been the cry of this team for years? Fix the Oline. This offseason, Caserio used free agency and the draft (once again) to fortify that position. Yet, the projected starting Oline for Sept 13 has three holdovers from last season, and the two big free agent signings as either second string (Wyatt Teller at LG) or on IR (Braden Smith at RT). 1st round pick Keylan Rutledge at least locked down a spot at LG, but the enduring image of that so far was him getting planted on a play that went to the other side of the field. Neal Brown, a bargain-bin pickup, at least locked down the C position. Granted, when we did see the starting Oline in limited action in the preseason, they moved the ball fairly effectively. Will that be the case against Buffalo? Unfortunately, we will have to wait to see if this will work.
The NFL to NCAA pipeline? If nothing else, college football’s “official” kickoff this weekend, along with the NFL starting next week, should drive a lot of the crazy non-playing stories further back in the sports pages. Yet, of all the crazy, the idea of NFL players returning to college to play football might be the looniest plotline out there. Then again, loony might be reality when Clemson kicks off against LSU this Saturday, when players that were in NFL training camps but days ago might suit up to play for LSU. Yes, there is a lot more to the story, between the clumsiness and ineffectiveness of the NCAA, the increasing role of judge-shopping to obtain a favorable ruling for a player and the financial incentives of the NIL era vs. salaries of NFL practice squad/back-of-the-depth chart players. No player that was in Texans training camp is involved in this situation at this point. Hopefully, this will die out after this season when the new NCAA eligibility rules kick in but talk about something that wasn’t on the bingo card to start the year.
Positive Reviews for the Rivalry Uniforms: In the never-ending quest for NFL teams to make more money to have something new and fresh for the fans, the Texans issued their “Rivalry” uniforms. Likely some of you have bought them, which Texans players will sport for games against rivals, like the Week 11 game vs. the Colts. While social media is mixed on the uniforms, “neutral” sports media sites are high on the new uniforms. That it is an homage to Houston car culture is a nice touch. Would it be better with more Columbia Blue? Of course. Then again, there is a rather, uh, colorful history about that color…one that is likely not disappearing anytime soon.
Stroud Contract: Looks like Stroud is gambling on himself this season. After a series of back-and-forth media announcements, it seems clear that no new contract will get signed between the Stroud and the Texans before the start of the regular season. Based on various reports, Houston looked to offer Stroud ~$50M/year, keeping him well within the top 12 of QB salaries. Stroud’s camp was supposedly looking between $60M-$70M. Sometimes, such a bet can pay off (see Flacco, Joe in 2012). Then again, when you gamble, there is always a chance to lose.
A promotion for a (former) Texan: Last season, JJ Watt was a full-time color analyst for CBS. On the #2 team with long-time broadcaster Ian Eagle, he got the chance to offer a D-Lineman perspective. Generally, the reviews were positive, especially as he wasn’t meant to be the face of the sports broadcast team for CBS. However, this past month, the man in the #1 color analyst spot, Tony Romo, was arrested for OWI in Wisconsin. CBS effectively suspended him indefinitely, leaving an opening for the #1 spot. What CBS’ long-term plans are for that spot, we don’t entirely know. Romo was not exactly in great standing over the past couple of years. However, the tandem of Eagle-Watt is being broken up, with Watt now taking the #1 analyst spot. Perhaps it helps that Watt isn’t a total TV rookie, but will CBS rue breaking up a fairly effective team? Also, we don’t know if Watt will cover that many Texans’ games, since he will be likely at the marquee/late-afternoon games. While Houston is good, they don’t usually get the 3:25 Central time slots on Sunday. This might hurt in another way. Houston was 4-0 in games Watt called last season.
Just a few thoughts in the last week before our emotional well-being get dictated by the on-field performance of the Texans. Until then…
