Value of Things: Texans Camp Battles – Quarterback

I absolutely despise clickbait. Find a controversial figure, say a few controversial things, and then stand back and watch the fireworks. There are few points of contention with the current version of the Houston Texans, but the backup quarterback position is one of them. There are supporters who believe in Keenum, and there are supporters who believe in Mills. I freely admit that I am not in either camp.

Readers are welcome to follow my story on that. I have openly advocated for signing another veteran quarterback as a backup because I don’t trust either of them. Anyway, we are doing these profiles for two main reasons. First, training camp is long and monotonous. September is a long way away and we need something to get us through those nearly two months of grind.

Perhaps more importantly, we have something to focus on and pay attention to while all of this stuff is happening. DeMeco Ryans is still early in his career as a head coach and watching how he handles this particular situation will give us insight into his mindset and how he wants to approach the team as a whole.

Because I’m not sure how much competition there will actually be. It’s quite possible that they’ve already decided on a replacement player. When it comes to tangibles, there really is no competition. Case Keenum wasn’t drafted as a free agent for a reason. He really doesn’t have a lot of tangibles. He’s not fast. His arm isn’t particularly strong and his accuracy isn’t great. There’s not a single thing he does well from a physical standpoint.

And yet, here he is in the league after 10-plus seasons. It’s because of all the intangibles he does well. He studies defenses. He has very good leadership skills. He wins by outsmarting his opponents. If you combined Mills’ physical attributes with Keenum’s intangibles, you would have the perfect backup quarterback. It will be interesting to see who wins in this camp.

It will also be interesting to see Ryan’s approach. There are two approaches that make sense, and each of them is easily equally likely. The first is an open competition. The Texans fortunately have an extra preseason game, so Ryans and his staff have plenty of time to put both guys against each other. We may not see CJ Stroud at all this preseason, and if that’s the case, that means plenty of playing time for both guys.

The second approach is to select a player and invest heavily to make sure he’s ready to play. In this case, I’d bet on Davis Mills. He would benefit the most from being a big part of this offense. He’s the player who is physically best able to start multiple games in the event of an injury. He’s the player who is physically best able to take advantage of all the targets of this offense.

Case Keenum feels like a second quarterback coach at this point. I have no problem with that. A guy who knows how to prepare week in and week out can be very valuable. However, that means you need a physically capable replacement. If Mills isn’t the answer, they better find someone else, fast.

This brings us back to training camp itself. Whether guys succeed or fail each day isn’t really the story of training camp. The story of camp in this case is how the coaching staff divides up the reps. Stroud should still get the bulk of the preparation and opportunities, but how are the other opportunities being distributed? Are there extra quarterbacks being used, or are they simply cannon fodder for defensive drills?

What do these guys look like? Are they guys with enough athleticism and skill to develop on the practice squad or, dare we say, the active roster? I’m not saying the backup quarterback position is high on the list of important battles in training camp. After all, there are a few starting positions at stake. However, since it’s the most important position on the field, it could be one of the more visible battles. How the battle is handled is more interesting than who actually wins it.