Once again patience is the key word for the Houston Texans, especially when it comes to the quarterback spot. That is especially the case when it comes to rookie quarterback Davis Mills.
The former Stanford Cardinal quarterback, and third round pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, Mills this past weekend didn’t have the best of practices in his first training camp. Fast forward to Monday and the rookie quarterback Mills improved according to head coach David Culley.
When it comes to Mills and most rookie quarterbacks, whether if they were first round choices, undrafted signings, or anywhere in-between like Mills, expect a roller coaster ride their rookie seasons because it isn’t easy to be an NFL quarterback.
Imagine the microscope Mills is under right now as a rookie QB for the Houston Texans. Currently the NFL passing leader Deshaun Watson is more of a scout team defensive stand in player than a QB, Tyrod Taylor is learning the system of Tim Kelly and they Texans, and Jeff Driskel is also new to the franchise. All of that could lead to a lot of pressure for the rookie QB on the roster.
All of the Texans quarterbacks are in a learning phase, as none of them were on the Houston Texans roster last season except for Watson, and he’s not going to be playing for the team this season, or so it seems.
Houston Texans head coach David Culley had this to say following practice on Monday, giving his rookie quarterback Mills some positive words after a bad practice a couple days before:
"“I thought he bounced back really well today. He did a nice job. What that tells me about him is that he isn’t going to get rattled with things. We knew that. That’s the demeanor that he had. He’s that kind of guy.”"
Culley also went on to say the following about Mills in a press conference with the media with transcripts provided by HoustonTexans.com:
"“You know, we knew when we drafted him that we knew we were getting a good, solid guy that pressure doesn’t bother him and for him to do what he did today as excellent. We expected that.”"
This is good to see for the Houston Texans. Yes, some of this is most likely coach speak because of the fact Culley doesn’t need to tear down his rookie quarterback to the media, but it is good to see Culley and the Texans are being patient with Mills as it will be needed now for future success.
Houston Texans: Training camp continues this week
Speaking of quarterbacks, Texans head coach David Culley was asked about Deshaun Watson and this was his short-and-sweet answer to the question of will “Watson be in pads?”
"“Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed.”"
That’s not a good sign if you are in favor of Deshaun Watson being the starting quarterback of the Houston Texans after what was a wild offseason. The feeling from afar is the Houston Texans have moved on from their quarterback, and are focusing on Taylor, Driskel, and Mills from here on out.
It is easy to see that the Texans have moved on because I’m going to guess that Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes or any other NFL starting quarterback wasn’t playing scout team defense reps with their respective teams this past week, eve if they were just standing in a spot. It still doesn’t make any sense to to that with Watson, small injury risk or not.
All-in-all it when it comes to Davis Mills and the Houston Texans the word is still patience. Though it is tough to wait for success, if Mills does become a solid quarterback in the future, the growing pains happening now will be well worth it for him and the Texans organization some where down the road.