The Houston Texans are preparing for their Week 1 contest against the Los Angeles Rams, but that didn't stop them from making a last-minute quarterback move to begin the 2025 NFL season.
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston, the Texans have signed QB Davis Mills to a one-year, $7 million fully guaranteed extension.
#Texans quarterback Davis Mills gets one-year, $7 million fully guaranteed extension, per a league source @KPRC2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 2, 2025
Davis Mills Signs Texans Contract Extension
While C.J. Stroud is the franchise QB in Houston, Davis Mills has the QB2 spot on lock. He came into the league as a third-round pick by Houston in 2021. Since entering the NFL, he has appeared in 38 career games (26 starts). In those outings, Mills has completed 62.6% of his throws for 6,167 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. He has gone 5-19-1 as the starter in the NFL.
Despite the underwhelming record, he is a player who could keep the offense afloat if anything were to happen to Stroud. With the QB1 and QB2 locked in, this deal shows how the team looks at Graham Mertz currently.
Mertz was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft, but his play in the preseason was disappointing. In three games, he went 23-of-32 for 174 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Mertz only averaged 5.4 yards per completion. In the first two preseason outings, he finished with a 56.2 or lower overall grade on Pro Football Focus.
Granted, he was only drafted in the sixth round, so the bar isn't that high. During six years at Wisconsin and Florida, Mertz failed to ever throw for more than 3,000 yards and 20 passing touchdowns in a season. He was brought into Houston as a developmental piece and found a way to beat out Kedon Slovis this summer.
While he's on the 53-man roster, it doesn't mean he'll be around for the long term if he doesn't improve. The Texans will likely keep him around for the year to see if he can improve this season, but it's obvious Houston doesn't want him on the field right now.
Having a quality backup QB is very underrated in the NFL, and the Texans made sure to keep theirs around.