Houston Texans: Top 5 passers in franchise history
By Phil Watson
10. . No. 1 overall pick, 2002; released, March 23, 2007. . David Carr. 2. player
The Houston Texans, heading into their inaugural season in 2002, took the quarterback they wanted with the No. 1 overall pick when they nabbed Fresno State’s David Carr.
Quarterbacking an expansion team is a thankless task most of the time and for Carr, it was also a painful one. No quarterback was sacked more during Carr’s five seasons in Houston, including a whopping 76 he absorbed in the team’s first season.
Three times, Carr led the NFL in most times sacked (a dubious distinction), as he went down 68 times in 2005 and was nailed 49 times in 2004.
More from Toro Times
- Houston Texans Draft: Michael Mayer should be a no doubter at pick 12
- Houston Texans already telling fans the Davis Mills era is over
- Houston Texans have hand forced, waste no time in firing Lovie Smith
- Houston Texans: Pros and Cons of keeping Head Coach Lovie Smith
- There is just one way the Texans can lose the No. 1 pick
The offensive line had issues in Houston’s early days and the best Carr was able to muster was leading the Texans to a 7-9 campaign in 2004.
Despite the beatings, Carr hung tough, starting 75 of 80 games during his five-year tenure with the club. He did miss four starts in 2003 with an injured right shoulder.
His best season was in 2004, when he completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,531 yards with 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions as he and 2003 first-round pick Andre Johnson developed some solid chemistry.
But the Texans slid backwards badly in 2005, finishing 2-14 with the worst defense in the NFL.in terms of scoring. Carr still completed 60.5 percent of his throws for 2,488 yards and 14 touchdowns to go with 11 picks.
After a 6-10 campaign in 2006 in which Carr led the league with a 68.3 completion percentage, the Texans went quarterback shopping. When they landed former Atlanta backup Matt Schaub as a free agent, Carr was released the following day.
In five seasons, he threw for 13,391 yards — second in franchise history — while completing 60 percent of his passes for 65 touchdowns, 71 interceptions and taking 249 sacks (ouch, babe).
He spent one season as Jake Delhomme‘s backup with Carolina and was also a backup for three seasons (2008-09, 2011) with the Giants and spent 2010 as a spare part in San Francisco.
Carr’s career ended with his release by the Giants in August 2013.