Watson’s exit may be matter of when, not if
Whether trade or suspension creates opening, expect Taylor to start at QB
The uncertainty over Deshaun Watson’s legal predicament makes it more likely that, barring injury, Tyrod Taylor will be the Texans’ starting quarterback when the regular season begins in September.
After Watson met with coach David Culley on a Zoom conference call earlier this month and reiterated his determination to leave the Texans, they planned to trade him by the draft rather than endure a long holdout that
would delay the rebuild.
The Texans were hoping to acquire a franchise quarterback for Watson to kick off the new era with Culley and general manager Nick Caserio, but Watson’s legal situation make it less likely they’ll be able to trade him by April 29, the first day of the draft.
With sexual assault lawsuits piling up, possible criminal charges being filed and an NFL investigation that could take months and, ultimately, may result in Watson being suspended, it’s less likely teams are going to make trade offers.
Teams have put their pursuit of Watson on hold until they get more information on his legal issues and see how they’re resolved. That doesn’t appear to be anytime soon.
Collecting QBs
Meanwhile, Caserio has signed two veteran quarterbacks, Taylor and Ryan Finley. The way Caserio is going through his electronic Rolodex and signing players almost every day, it won’t be surprising if he adds another veteran to increase the competition.
It’ll be interesting to see if Caserio finds a quarterback he likes in the draft, one who’s still available in the third round. Would he use the Texans’ highest pick on a quarterback, wait until a later round or ignore the position in the draft and perhaps sign a rookie free agent to develop behind the veterans?
The Texans’ quarterback situation offers so much intrigue that it’s a hot topic locally and around the country on a daily basis. And it started after the season with Watson’s trade demand and has skyrocketed into another stratosphere with the lawsuits that began last week.
The Texans have a proven veteran in Taylor, but injuries have cost him his last two starting jobs with Cleveland and the Los Angeles Chargers.
Taylor has made only four starts in his last three years, losing his job early each season with a concussion in 2018 with the Browns and a punctured lung in 2020 with the Chargers. In each instance, he was replaced by the team’s first-round pick — Baker Mayfield (Cleveland) and Justin Herbert (Los Angeles).
Taylor (6-1, 217) is playing in his 11th season and turns 32 in August. The only time he’s been a regular starter was during three seasons with Buffalo (2015-17), and he played well, for the most part.
With the Bills, Taylor compiled a 22-20 record as a starter. He threw 51 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions. He also ran for 1,475 yards and 14 touchdowns.
In 2017, when Culley was his quarterback coach, Taylor was 8-6 as a starter. He had 14 touchdown passes and four interceptions. He ran for 427 yards and four touchdowns. The Bills made the playoffs and lost at Jack sonville in the wild card round.
Before he was injured with the Browns and Chargers, Taylor was 2-1-1 as a starter.
If Watson were the starter, Taylor would be a terrific backup. Because Watson’s not likely to be the starter, Taylor will be a placeholder until Caserio can acquire another quarterback the Texans can promote as the franchise — someone they waited 16 years to find until former general manager Rick Smith traded up in 2017 to select Watson.
Staff likes Taylor
Caserio, Culley and Pep Hamilton, the new quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator, are familiar with Taylor and agreed he would be a nice fit considering the team’s current problems that aren’t expected to be resolved for months.
Culley was Taylor’s quarterback coach at Buffalo. As New England’s director of player personnel, Caserio watched Taylor play six games against the Patriots when he played for the Bills. Hamilton coached him last season with the Chargers.
In a perfect world, Watson would be the starter, and Taylor would be replacing A.J. McCarron as his backup. Now, fans want to know what the Texans are getting in Taylor?
The last time the Texans entered a season without Watson as the starter was 2017 when Tom Savage replaced Brock Osweiler, the starter in 2016.
In the first game, Savage lasted one half before he was replaced by Watson in a lopsided loss to Jacksonville. Coach Bill O’Brien elevated Watson into the starting role a week later, and he was 3-3 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Besides Savage, O’Brien also used T.J. Yates and Taylor Heinicke that season.
Now Osweiler, Savage, Yates and Heinicke are distant memories, and Watson is up to his chinstrap in lawsuits, vowing to never play for the Texans again.
If you’re a Texans’ fan, you should hope Taylor is able to stay healthy. His current backup is Finley, a 2019 fourth-round draft choice who was 1-3 as a starter for Cincinnati.
Without Watson, the Texans are starting over in their quest to acquire another franchise quarterback. With a trade by the start of the draft highly unlikely, Caserio probably will have to wait until next year to fill that void.
If the Texans are going to be as bad as most anticipate — perhaps pathetic enough to get the first pick in the 2022 draft — it would be the fourth time in team history they selected first overall.
The Texans may never acquire another quarterback as talented as Watson, but that’s not going to stop them from trying to find a replacement for Houston’s best quarterback since Warren Moon.