The Brock Osweiler experiment isn’t working. What do the Houston Texans do now?
You don’t need NFL Analysts, stats, or a crystal ball to see that Brock Osweiler is under performing this season. After starting for about half the season last year on the Broncos, (and playing average at best) the Houston Texans decided to sign Osweiler to a 4 year, $72 Million deal.
It was confusing to many, but overall not a shocking move, as the Texans have been struggling at the QB position for years. This was the “calculated” move to fix their issues. **News Flash** The issue is still apparent, and possibly bigger than it was before.
Through 10 games, the Houston Texans sit atop the division at 6-4, so the issue isn’t too bad. However, the Texans are a team that is built to win right now.
The Texans defense ranks inside the top 5 in the NFL in most metrics you’ll see. They brought in Lamar Miller to be their workhorse running back, and he is producing behind a good offensive line.
The Texans also boast one of the best Wide Receivers in the NFL in DeAndre Hopkins, as well as having 2 explosive rookies in Braxton Miller and Will Fuller. So what is the issue?
The problem most people see is with Brock Osweiler. Last season, Brian Hoyer quarterbacked the Texans to the playoffs, yet had his mistakes. That could be what Osweiler does this season, but here is the key difference. Brian Hoyer made the skill players around him useful.
Last season, to this point, Hopkins was already over 1,000 yards receiving, with 26 more receptions and 9 touchdowns on the season. Hopkins has been negated to the numbers comparable to receivers 3rd on the depth chart of other teams.
But as much as Hopkins has less than impressive stats, the stats coming from Osweiler this season are terrible. If you look at passer ratings throughout the NFL this season, Osweiler currently sits at 31st among QB’s that have thrown at least 100 passes.
To give you a scale, the two quarterbacks he sits in between have already lost their job this season, those being Case Keenum and Blaine Gabbert. The only other QB with a lower rating this season is Ryan Fitzpatrick, who is catching plenty of flack himself.
It doesn’t get much better the deeper you go. His completion percentage is 59.5% which is good enough for 29th. He is averaging 206 passing yards per game, also good enough for 29th. It looks even worse when you factor in that this team has a top 5 Wide Receiver on it’s roster. That alone should rise your numbers.
We’ve looked at the numbers, but when you watch Brock play, he doesn’t look comfortable, isn’t making the right reads, and unless something changes drastically, this type of production won’t be acceptable to a team that has it’s eyes on a Super Bowl.
So what can the Houston Texans do to correct their mistake? The answer is not much. They’ve given a rather large contract with guaranteed money to a quarterback they thought was the answer.
They can attempt to trade him, but what team wants to take on his type of production and also take on that contract? I don’t think they would have much success with that route.
They can’t afford to sign another quarterback in Free Agency, with the money they have in other players. I see only two possibilities. The first being to take a quarterback with their first or 2nd pick in the NFL Draft.
If they can target a quarterback early in the NFL Draft after this season, they can pay a lower amount to have him on the roster, and groom him to be their quarterback (or even to start immediately). There are a lot of quarterbacks available in this draft class, and they all continue to fall.
Quarterbacks we thought would be taken early are now slipping down boards. DeShone Kizer, Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, Brad Kaaya. All of these quarterbacks have the potential to be available when the Texans pick first, and potenially with their 2nd pick.
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If they select someone with potential, it could help this team drastically and for years to come. However, there is one other option I could see happening. The answer lies in the same state. That’s right, bring Tony Romo to Houston.
It may sound crazy, but hear me out. Tony Romo has lost his job to Dak Prescott, and the rookie is performing extremely well. With Tony Romo getting older in age, and the Cowboys seemingly looking to move on, this move makes sense.
Tony has lived in Texas since 2003, and is married and has 2 sons. One could imagine that those roots are important to him. Staying in the state, he could move to a team in need of a quarterback. I know we talked about how the Texans can’t afford another franchise quarterback, but this move is not about money for Romo.
Tony Romo is ultra-competitive, and just lost his job to a rookie because he was injured. I don’t believe that Romo has the ability to just let that happen and to leave the game on that note. I think he wants to prove he can still play football, and wants to bring a team to the Super Bowl.
A move to the Texans is mutually beneficial. The Texans need an experienced quarterback that can put the ball in the right places. Romo needs a team built to win, which the Texans are on both sides of the football.
Tony realizes he doesn’t have much time left in the NFL, so I don’t believe he would command too much money, just wants an opportunity.
These are the two best solutions I suggest the Houston Texans look into. If they don’t, they can look forward to 3 more years of bad offense and mediocre seasons.