Houston Texans: Predicting the 2017 53-Man Roster by Position
Quarterbacks
Quarterbacks (3) — Tom Savage, Deshaun Watson and Brandon Weeden
Bill O’Brien has recently indicated that Savage will the starter for the Houston Texans moving forward. That’s the right decision because for the most part, he has been terrific with his level of football play.
He’s making good reads with his passes, throwing the football accurately and hasn’t turned the ball over. That’s the guy I want quarterbacking by team and barring bad QB play or injury, he will remain the starter for the season. Savage has gone 27-for-36 (75 percent) for 246 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 102.3 rating in the preseason.
Watson has shown some flashes of brilliance but he is showing signs that he still needs some time to adjust to the game. I noticed too many times where he’d be too hasty with his decisions and he’d let his athleticism try to make up for the poor decisions. That’s fine when he’s in a jam at times but shouldn’t be modus operandi as far as how he should approach the position.
Nonetheless, I’m ecstatic in regard to his raw talent and I honestly feel he can be our quarterback of the future. Until then, he’ll be more of an understudy this season as he soaks in all of the aspects of O’Brien’s playbook. So far, Watson has gone 29-of-56 (51.8 percent) for 397 yards, zero passing touchdowns, one interception, two rushing downs off four carries for 44 yards in the preseason for a 67.3 rating.
There’s no need to rush Watson and I think he’ll be an even better quarterback once he gets his feet wet and dealing with different coverage that’s thrown at him.
Brandon Weeden doesn’t necessarily perform well in the preseason because quite frankly, there’s no competition with him. Weeden is here for leadership of both of our two young QBs and would only see the field if both QBs faced some type of injury, impairing their ability to play. With the bad luck that we’ve had with our QBs, it’s prudent that we carry three to offer the utmost of contingencies to ensure continuity of our offense.