HOUSTON — All eyes were on the offensive huddle as the Houston Texans for their first iteration of 11-on-11 drills at training camp. Which red jersey among the sea of blues on offense would emerge to call the play?
Since offseason workouts, general manager Nick Caserio and coach DeMeco Ryans have clarified third-year Davis Mills and rookie C.J. Stroud would battle for the starting quarterback position. Two days into camp, Mills and Stroud have split time working with the first and second units during the eight periods of team drills.
“The quarterbacks will rotate as we did in the spring; nothing has changed there,” said Ryans after practice July 27. “When the time comes to declare someone as a starter, we’ll do that when it’s the right time for us.”
When pressed a little more about the timeframe of when a starter will be named, Ryans made sure that everyone listening knew that it would not be anytime soon, but when it happens, it will be the right fit for the offense.
“It’ll be the best guy that I feel like is going to lead our team in the proper way, and that ultimately gives us the best opportunity to go out there and be as successful as we can be,” Ryans said. “In Baltimore, I promise that we will have a quarterback out there.”
Most Texans fans and media members would like the Texans to take the same route the Carolina Panthers took by declaring rookie Bryce Young the starter at the beginning of their training camp. Yet, Ryans hesitates to announce a starter even with drafting Stroud just one pick behind Young in the 2023 NFL draft.
In the first two days of practice, Stroud has had the advantage over Mills, but not by a wide enough margin to declare him the outright starter.
Stroud showed flashes of what he accomplished at Ohio State by throwing a variety of good passes on the second day, including an accurate sideline pass to Noah Brown. He placed the ball away from the defender, with enough room where Brown could stay in bounds long enough for a completed catch. But he also had some issues with timing and getting the ball out of his hands quickly, leading to passes being tipped by the defender.
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) July 27, 2023
As training camp moves forward and Stroud becomes more familiar with new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s offense and chemistry with his wide receivers, he should be named the starter heading into Week 1.
Fans will get a glimpse of the quarterback battle for themselves on day three, which is open to the public.