All signs point to the Houston Texans going with Davis Mills as their starting quarterback in 2022, which is technically a step down from the franchise quarterback they had in-house from 2017-21.
Given that the nature of pro football is built around the success of the starting quarterback, it would behoove the Texans to at least explore better options if they are available.
With Deshaun Watson going to the Cleveland Browns, Baker Mayfield is out of a job.
According to Cody Benjamin from CBS Sports, the Texans are a team that would be a logical fit for the former 2018 No. 1 overall pick.
The Texans would likely prefer to just roll with 2021 third-rounder Davis Mills and/or a cheaper insurance plan. But Mayfield would at least give new coach Lovie Smith veteran competition for Mills, if not a potential long-term successor, now that Watson is finally on his way out of the building.
Mayfield’s ceiling has been reached in his four seasons with the Browns. If they thought they didn’t need to upgrade at quarterback, they wouldn’t have been in the Watson sweepstakes.
Houston’s problems are far beyond quarterback play — at least not to the point that Mayfield would be a substantial enough upgrade to put the Texans back in playoff contention. It would better suit the Texans to give Mills a shot this season and ascertain what his ceiling is rather than waste a year progress-stopping their former 2021 third-round pick in the process.
Texans coach Lovie Smith told reporters on Sept. 16, 2021 that he was familiar enough with Mayfield’s playmaking abilities.
“I know Baker’s history,” Smith said. “He’s been all playmaker all his life and I don’t know what all happened early in his career. But I know right now, he’s one of the better quarterbacks playing in our league and that’s one of the challenges we have.”
Mayfield, a graduate of Lake Travis High School in the Austin area, would no doubt be interested in continuing his NFL career with the Texans.