Here’s A Way To Solve The Texans’ Backup Quarterback Problem

The Texans had a backup quarterback problem last year once Deshaun Watson went down. As the roster stands right now, they will again have a backup quarterback problem if Deshaun Watson goes down. After Watson took over as starting quarterback for Houston last year, the secondary option was deposed starter Tom Savage, who continued the tradition of terrible Texans’ quarterback play like hot dogs on the Fourth of July. The third option, T.J. Yates, couldn’t recreate his 2011 magic and proved once again why he’s a transient in the NFL.

Houston’s backup quarterbacks are currently Brandon Weeden, Joe Webb, and Stephen Morris. Unless Houston can the run the ball up the middle to kill the clock, dominate on defense, call upon one-possesson witchcraft, and somehow survive how they did in 2015, If anything was to happen to Watson, the 2018 season will be a lot like the 2017 season—miserable.

Why settle for that? Why allow the uncontrollable to once again ruin the fantastic? Why not have a better option to deal with quarterback adversity?

SB Nation NFL had an idea. It’s an idea I am very much here for.

After missing all but one game over his last two seasons, newly acquired quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is a low-cost lottery ticket for the New York Jets. With Josh McCown and 2018 first-round draft pick Sam Darnold on the roster, however, the best way for Bridgewater to maximize his value for Todd Bowles’ team could be to play somewhere else.

That’s not to say that Bridgewater can’t earn the starting job with the Jets. But in a league where even average quarterback play is rewarded with eight-figure annual salaries, a 25-year-old passer with a Pro Bowl pedigree like Bridgewater would bring a solid return in a preseason trade. His inexpensive one-year, $5 million contract and encouraging reviews from the start of Jets’ official team activities (OTAs) could even be enough to wipe away concerns about his relatively meager numbers in Minnesota or, more importantly, the catastrophic knee injury that cost him nearly two full years of his NFL career:

We’ve seen backup QBs shipped from stocked teams in the offseason before. Coincidentally enough, Sam Bradford’s career revival in Minnesota wouldn’t have happened without Bridgewater being lost for the season in August 2015. Jacoby Brissett went from the Patriots’ third-string passer to the Colts’ starter last fall when Andrew Luck’s balky shoulder forced him out for the year.

Bridgewater could be the next player acquired to bolster a team’s unsettled quarterback position before the regular season starts. Here’s who could be interested:

Houston Texans

Rostered quarterbacks: Deshaun Watson, Brandon Weeden, Joe Webb, Stephen Morris

Watson’s 2017 injury derailed a potential rookie of the year performance and spiraled the Texans from a 3-3 start to a 1-9 finish. While he’ll be back at full strength this season, Houston’s limited offensive line presents many of the same challenges the Seahawks face — only this time with a quarterback already recovering from a torn ACL.

Bridgewater is good enough to keep a dangerous Texans team in the AFC South race should Watson see another season curtailed by injury. While there may be some reservations behind backing up one mobile quarterback with a recent history of knee problems with another, the one-time Pro Bowler is likely the best option Houston could find. If Watson suffers a setback in his recovery and is projected to miss any time this year, turning to a healthy Bridgewater would give the team a much higher ceiling than Weeden, Webb, or Morris could.

My heart! It can only take so much.