Houston and Quarterbacks

This past week, there have been a plethora of moves for many teams across the NFL. One of the biggest moves that I saw was Houston completely dumping Brock Osweiler off in Cleveland. Unfortunately, the Texans also had to give up two decent draft picks along with Osweiler and only got a fourth round pick in return. Even though Houston made these sacrifices, in the end it leaves a positive gap to fill for the Quarterback position. Tom Savage filled in quite nicely at the end of last season when Coach Bill O’Brien benched Osweiler, but Savage is hardly a good starting option. In no particular order, here are a few veteran Quarterbacks the Texans should keep their eye on in the coming weeks.

1. Jay Cutler- The Bears just signed Mike Glennon and it looks as though Chicago is going to try and move forward without Cutler. In the past, Cutler has had a few good seasons and has shown a lot of potential. However, there is little to no spirit of leadership within him. Maybe he just didn’t like the Bears, but throughout his entire career, hasn’t really shown much passion for the game of football. Cutler hasn’t really gone anywhere with his career, and even with a team built to make the playoffs already, I’m not sure if he’s the one to take them to the Super Bowl. Honestly, at the end of the day, unless the Bears have that much faith in their draft, they might be forced to resign Cutler, especially after Hoyer and Barkley just signed with San Francisco. Cutler would not be a good fit for Houston.
2. Colin Kaepernick- Kaepernick needs a team to sign him. Will it be the Texans? I highly doubt it. Not only has Kaepernick become a below average quarterback since his Super Bowl run, he has also decided to become a social activist. While some might believe in his movement, there is a large population in Texas that would not want the leader of their team to kneel during the national anthem, or wear shirts idolizing communist leaders. While Kaepernick was successful in a time that has past, his newfound activism and poor play would not land him a starting position in Houston.
3. Robert Griffin III- Injury-prone and straight off a nearly winless season with the Cleveland Browns, RG3 has shown that his amazing rookie campaign was a one-year wonder. Unfortunately, the issues that we saw from him this season prove that unless he can develop some elite pocket passing skills over the offseason, no team should be reaching out to get Griffin unless some kind of unworldly disaster strikes and their starting quarterback tears an ACL or two.
4. Ryan Fitzpatrick- Fitzpatrick had potential. A journeyman Quarterback who seemed to have his act together during his 2015-2016 campaign with the Jets showed that he had a whole lot of potential. Unfortunately, the last impression he made on the NFL during this past season was that he seemed to find great joy in throwing the ball to the other team. Fitzy would be good for some mediocre team just looking to get by, but the Texans are built to win their first championship soon. Ryan Fitzpatrick should not be the man to lead Houston to the promised land. If he couldn’t get anything done with Brandon Marshall and rising star Quincy Enunwa, he wouldn’t do much with the likes of DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.
5. Vince Young- Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he’s attempting to make a comeback. Being out of football for a little less than a decade can be tough, but Vince Young showed that he had untapped potential that never went to use when he was with the Tennessee Titans. This guy was supposed to be the next Steve McNair, but unfortunately he never had the right pieces around him to help him along. If the Texans pick him up, he would have a nice receiving unit and a more than competent defense. Take into account that coach Bill O’Brien was a disciple of the great Bill Belichick, and you could have a decent chance to win the Super Bowl sometime soon. However, if the Texans do decide to sign the former Longhorns star, they do need to deal with the fact that he has quite a few years of rust to shake off. Signing him would be a huge risk for a team that should make the playoffs, but after signing Brock Osweiler for an absurd amount, I’m not too sure how risky of a move the Texans want to make at this point.
6. Tony Romo- Speaking of risky moves, Tony Romo is who the Texans should fight tooth and nail to get. While the Quarterback has had a slew of injury problems including broken back bones, and various collarbone concerns, Romo seems to be ready to play. If he is as healthy as Jerry Jones claims he is, then he would be a perfect fit for the Texans. Last season, the Texans won their division and beat the Raiders without a quarterback, so one can only imagine what the leadership of a solid veteran Quarterback would do for the team. Even though Romo is a huge health concern, the upside is still there. In bringing Romo over from the Cowboys, some of the Dallas fanbase would follow and the Houston fanbase will grow to a level we haven’t seen before. Combine this with the fact that Romo wouldn’t need to change his playing conditions and already has a playoff team built around him, he should be begging Jerry Jones to trade him to Houston. We can even put a worst-case scenario in there for Romo. Let’s say he gets knocked out for the year in the first preseason game. I believe he would be more than happy to help and teach the likes of Tom Savage much more than he tried to help Dak Prescott. In Dallas, there was a straight-up competition for starting Quarterback, but Houston is a much more secure job. If Romo ends up coming back from a potential injury, I’m sure he could beat out Savage for starter. The only warning I have for the Texans is that they need to get him for the right price. Don’t sign someone with questionable ability for 72 million dollars.

Written by Rick Wronski