Tyrod Taylor’s lone year as part of Houston Texans was a bumpy ride.
It looked like a great move when Tyrod Taylor was brought to Houston due to Deshaun Watson’s legal situation being known to the public for the first time. Taylor was meant to be the sturdy veteran under which third-round pick Davis Mills was to learn under.
Taylor started off hot with a blowout of the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 and then had the team tied at halftime in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns. But then disaster and deja vu struck again for Taylor- Taylor was injured in the 3rd quarter against the Browns. In addition, Taylor had lost his starting job to a rookie quarterback for the third consecutive year.
When Taylor did make his return against the Miami Dolphins, it was one of the most confusing games played by a quarterback many had ever seen. Interceptions and fumbles littered the stat sheet, and Houston lost a very winnable game.
Then the shock of the season was Taylor upsetting the Tennessee Titans on the road in Week 11. Taylor had two rushing touchdowns as the Texans built a 19-0 lead and never looked back. The following week against the Jets, Taylor had two passing touchdowns- but still lost. That was the Justin Reid game for those that remember.
Taylor’s parting impression was a terrible day against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, where he only managed 45 passing yards in a 31-0 loss.
So what are the pros and cons to keeping Taylor?
The Pros of the Houston Texans keeping Tyrod Taylor
If the Houston Texans decided to bring back Taylor, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Taylor could be given one more shot to see if he could stay injury-free for another season. At least on paper, Taylor had a better start to the 2021 season than Davis Mills did. Mills went 0-7 before he got his first win, and Taylor nearly delivered two wins in the first two weeks of the season.
Taylor has been around and could do better with an offensive-minded head coach. David Culley was a more “balanced” coach, with no real strengths on either side of the ball- but both were pretty equal in talent.
Taylor also still has a decent set of legs, as evident by his two rushing scores against Tenessee late in the season.
Cons
For those looking for a reason to boot the Super Bowl XLVII Champion quarterback (he was Joe Flacco’s backup), the Miami and final Indianapolis game is all that one needs to watch. Keeping Taylor would also impede on Mills’s progress very late in the season- making one wonder why the Houston Texans ever drafted Mills.
Mills was more explosive than Taylor, although his rookie status showed quite a bit. Plus, Mills’ ability to keep fighting when down big (Rams and season finale vs. Titans) is something that you can’t coach. Mills made blowouts seem not as bad as they looked and also brought Houston to tie the game in the season finale.
What should the Houston Texans do with Tyrod Taylor?
My recommendation would be for Houston to let him walk. At this point, with as much as they’ve invested into Mills, it would make no sense to keep Taylor around. Mills has shown that he has a little more upside to him than Taylor, and Mills is on the right side of 30.
Who knows when the Deshaun Watson situation is going to be resolved, and Jeff Driskel is now a tight end. So the only way that Taylor would stick around with Houston is if the team gave him a juicy contract to be a backup quarterback.
That’s more of what Taylor is (based on his recent play). Of course, Taylor wouldn’t be the worst backup quarterback to have; just ask the New York Giants how the Jake Fromm quarterback sneak debacle went.
So Houston lets Taylor walk, and they peruse the free agency for their next QB2. Maybe there’s even one they take in the draft, maybe along the likes of Eric Barriere from Eastern Washington.