Since resolving the controversy regarding their former franchise quarterback by trading him to the Cleveland Browns in the offseason, the Houston Texans have been hamstrung by mediocre play by Davis Mills at the position in 2022. Fans have clamored for head coach Lovie Smith to make a change for some time, and he was confronted by the media about his hesitancy to pull the trigger after another loss in Week 10.
Asked about what is holding him back from making the switch when he is content to swap personnel on defense, Smith made it clear that he isn’t ready to make any changes at the position at this point in time.
“[I] just don’t think it’s time, as simple as that,” Smith told reporters after Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. “Quarterback position is a little bit different. We rotate pretty much at most positions, we play more than one guy. [The] quarterback position is a little bit different. We can’t turn the ball over. Acknowledging what we did today is not good enough and anytime we’re turning the ball over especially in the red zone it’s not good enough. But that’s where we are right now.”
While this may not be the answer many hoped to hear about the floundering franchise’s most inconsistent position, Smith is justified in his belief that giving backup Kyle Allen a shot to start full-time would be a bandaid solution to the team’s gaping wound at the position. Allen found limited success as a starter for the Carolina Panthers in 2019 but struggled with turnovers.
The Texans’ best chance to land a capable starter will be in free agency or the draft in the coming offseason, and there isn’t much they can do in the interim except hold on and hope that playing competitive football won’t take them out of position to land one of the top prospects in April.
