The Houston Texans' preseason opener is slated for Saturday afternoon, giving the fanbase the first real taste of football in seven months. It is a welcome moment that signals the approaching end of the summer and what will be a pivotal season for the franchise.
The story, however, won't be the Texans on Saturday, with the news that second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy will make his long-awaited NFL debut. The young signal-caller is the last to start from what has a chance to be a historic draft class. Already, we've seen Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels lead their respective teams to the postseason.
This leaves Michael Penix, Caleb Williams, and Drake Maye, who have all shown flashes of being possible franchise answers. Now, Houston will be the first opponent in the final debut from this first-round class with McCarthy stepping on the field for the first time on Saturday.
The quarterback's 2024 season was cut short before it began with an injury that forced Minnesota to turn to veteran Sam Darnold. All setting the stage for the young QB to make his debut against the Texans, providing an interesting story in what is expected to be an otherwise boring game.
Texans Fans Will Watch J.J. McCarthy Make a Long-Awaited Debut
McCarthy will likely start with Sam Howell, Brett Rypien, and Max Brosmer being Minnesota's remaining options. This trio is far less interesting than expected to play against Houston's depth pieces and fringe roster players. Despite the quarterback playing in another conference, the story of the game for both sides is going to be his debut. For Houston, this game is simply another hurdle to get closer to the regular season.
With injuries already plaguing the roster, the hope of the game should be to escape without losing any key depth. As long as this happens, Houston will be happy with the result regardless of the scoreline. Perhaps the only downside to McCarthy making his debut against the franchise is the possible highlights it could create. Even if Houston were to play backups, any highlights are going to become consistently played in the overreaction news cycle we are currently stuck in.
Fans must keep this in mind and take any results in the next three weeks with a hefty grain of salt. Still, it is exciting to see football return and for the Texans to be involved in an interesting debut, even if it isn't one of their own making.