Anthony Miller just never got going with the Chicago Bears.
The former 2018 second-round pick from Memphis caught 134 passes for 1,564 yards and 11 touchdowns through three seasons. Miller caught seven touchdown passes in his rookie year, had over 600 yards in his second year, but it never materialized for the 5-11, 199-pound wideout.
With the Texans, Miller seeks a fresh start.
“That’s exactly what it is, a fresh start,” Miller said. “A new opportunity for me to show what I can do, and the coaches here, they believe in what I can do 100%. That’s all I want is an opportunity, and that’s what they’re giving me.”
What coach David Culley wants from Miller is to provide competition at receiver.
“He’s doing a good job of learning the system. He’s fitting right in with Keke (Coutee) and Alex (Erickson) in that position that we got for him, and basically the competition right there, all he did is just make the competition even more when he came in here,” Culley said.
The competition at receiver has also generated one of the team’s greatest strengths. At the top of the depth chart at the position include Brandin Cooks, Chris Conley, and rookie Nico Collins.
“We’ve got a lot of weapons and we’re still putting the pieces together,” said Roberts. “We’re still finding out what everybody can do and where they’re going to play, what positions. It’s really a competition. That’s what the coaches are saying. But you know, we’re sticking together. If one doesn’t know the play we’ll tell him, so it’s no bad blood within the receiving room.”
The brotherhood and lack of bad blood in the receiver room is what the Texans need as they try to recover from a 4-12 record from a year ago, which will be a tall order given the transition at quarterback from Deshaun Watson to a platoon of Tyrod Taylor, Jeff Driskel, and Davis Mills.