Houston Texans: Jeff Driskel cut; Deshaun Watson now third-string QB

The Houston Texans are down to three quarterbacks on their roster

The Houston Texans quarterback roster has one less player as Jeff Driskel has been released from the team, per multiple reports by the Texans media.

Driskel was in a battle for the second-string quarterback spot with rookie Davis Mills, whom the Texans selected in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, so it isn’t surprising Driskel was the odd man out when it comes to roster decisions at quarterback.

This roster decision means Tyrod Taylor will be the starting quarterback in Week 1 when the Houston Texans host the Jacksonville Jaguars, followed by Mills as the backup. There there is Deshaun Watson, and since it seems like the Texans are keeping him on the roster he’ll move up to the third-string status for the time being.

Who would have ever imagined that the Texans would have Deshaun Watson as a third-string quarterback? It is what is is due to Watson’s off-the-field issues, and his demand to be traded, plus what the Texans want for him in a trade. Eventually all of this will be settled, but when it will be settled is the mystery in all of this.

Houston Texans: More on the QB roster before first game next Sunday

Back to Driskel, he is a serviceable quarterback, but this preseason he didn’t show much to have the confidence in him to stay on this rebuilding roster. The Texans can’t release Mills because he’s still a work in progress they must have some confidence in for the future. Taylor is the veteran brought in to keep the team afloat for ’21, and who knows what his future with the team is after this season.

Taylor played well this preseason, so the Texans will be fine — not overly great, but fine enough to compete against the teams on their schedule. The team feels they are better than many believe they are, but at least here, the success has to be seen to believe those statements.

We’ve already gone through the saga that is Watson and the Texans, but they are still paying him a lot of money to basically do nothing until they get what they feel is fair in a trade for a Top 5 NFL quarterback.

Granted, there is baggage with Watson, but he’s still one of the better quarterbacks in the league, and eventually a team will bite and make the Texans a grand offer, because like it or not, for those in the NFL, winning games tops everything else.

Will Taylor lead the Texans to some surprise wins, and if he doesn’t, will Mills eventually make some starts for the Texans if the overall record isn’t very good later in the season?

Seeing Watson on the field for the Texans most likely isn’t happening, so unless the Texans sign another quarterback before Week 1, get used to seeing Taylor as the starter and Mills as next in line.

Driskel could end up on the practice squad of the Texans, and if that is the case, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing for the franchise if things go haywire at the position at some point this season.