Houston Texans Place Tyrod Taylor, Nico Collins On Injured Reserve

We learned on Monday that Houston Texans starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor and rookie wide receiver Nico Collins both sustained significant injuries during Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns that would keep them on the shelf for awhile. It was just announced, as some already suspected, that both players have been moved to the injured reserve list.

This means, as we all knew already, raw, rookie quarterback Davis Mills gets his first start tomorrow night. Be afraid, Texans faithful, be very afraid.

Some are clamoring for the Texans to go sign Cam Newton or bring Jeff Driskell up from the practice squad. Others are still fantasizing that Houston will give the keys to the kingdom back over to embattled former starter Deshaun Watson.

Newton shouldn’t be signed, Driskell should be elevated. Watson should be left on the shelf pending the outcome of his current off-field situation.

The Texans Need to Replace Tyrod Taylor

Taylor came, he saw, and he (almost) conquered. In his game and a half as Houston’s field general, Taylor completed 70.5% of his passes for 416 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, a QBR of 84.6, and a QB rating of 122.9. Talk about playing beyond expectations!

Unfortunately, as we know All Good Texans Things Must End. Looking thru the list of currently available free agent quarterbacks yields names like:

• Josh Johnson
• DeShonw Kizer
• Blake Bortles
• Brett Hundley
• Nate Sudfield

Hardly a rogue’s gallery of starting quarterbacks who just need a lucky break. Pre 2017 NFL Ddraft, a lot of the masthead was really high on Kizer, myself included. To the point Brett Kollmann featured Kizer in a post-draft Film Room along with Watson and Patrick Mahomes. Unfortunately, Kizer didn’t work out in Cleveland... but Houston certainly seems to be a destination for ex-Browns these days.

Based on this list of available free agent QBs, if Davis Mills performs as expected, don’t be surprised to see general manager Nick Caserio make yet another trade to secure someone else’s backup. Here are some possibilities from CBS Sports 2021 NFL Backup Quarterback Rankings:

• Jacoby Brisett (Miami Dolphins)
• P.J. Walker (of Houston Roughnecks fame)
• John Wolford (Los Angeles Rams)
• C.J. Beatherd (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Kellen Mond (Minnesota Vikings)
• Taysom Hill (New Orleans Saints)

None of those names are uber-exciting, except maybe Mond and Walker, but all are unpolished and might not provide much of an upgrade from Mills.

The Texans Don’t Need to Replace Nico Collins

Despite how high we all were on Collins prior to Kickoff 2021, the rookie has yet to do much in-game during the season. He’s caught 2 passes for 39 yards. Those meager numbers project to a season total of 16 receptions for 312 yards, hardly the sort of return on investment we were expecting from the big-bodied wide out.

Thankfully, the Texans aren’t thin at the wide receiver position. With Brandin Cooks, Anthony Miller, Chris Conley and Danny Amendola, Collins most likely won’t be missed.

Last week, the Carolina Panthers held the Saints’ offense to only 128 total yards—80 passing yards and 48 rushing. If that same defense shows up tomorrow night against Davis Mills and the Houston Texans, expect the Texans to get pantsed on national television once again. Thankfully this time we won’t have to listen to Bill O’Brien’s post-game presser where he details how the coaching staff needs to do a better job.