Texans’ QB1 slot will be ‘competition,’ Ryans says

Last updated: 2023/06/13 at 11:59 PM

BigP Published June 13, 2023

DJ Bien-Aime, ESPNJun 13, 2023, 03:44 PM ET
Close

HOUSTON — Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Tuesday that the team will have an open quarterback competition between C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills going into training camp.

“We’ll see where their process goes in training camp and see as the competition continues,” Ryans said after the first day of mandatory minicamp. “We’ll see who separates themselves.”

Throughout OTAs and minicamp, Stroud, this year’s No. 2 pick, and Mills have rotated reps with the first-team offense. During the first day of minicamp, Stroud ran with the first team, but Ryans cited that it was Stroud’s turn to operate with the starting unit.

“They’ve been rotating each week,” Ryans said. “As you guys came to practice, you’ve seen we’ve rotated those guys each week, and this just happened to be the week that C.J. was running with the 1s.”

The Texans decided to do the opposite of what the Carolina Panthers did this past Thursday when the Panthers named No. 1 pick Bryce Young the Week 1 starter, as they will have the competition continue into camp.

The Texans selected Stroud hoping he could become the franchise quarterback they’ve been searching for since trading former quarterback Deshaun Watson. In the past two seasons, the Texans rank 31st in QBR (33.3).

Quarterbacks drafted in the top five commonly start Week 1 of their rookie season. Since the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement, among the 17 quarterbacks selected in the top five, 11 have started in Week 1.

But if Stroud doesn’t secure the starting role, the franchise will turn to Mills, who has started 26 games in the past two seasons for the Texans. In those starts, he has thrown 33 touchdowns and 25 interceptions and posted a record of 5-19-1.

Even though Stroud is in an open competition, Ryans is still impressed with his development.

“The best thing I’ve seen about C.J. with his improvement and his growth is he doesn’t make the same mistake twice,” Ryans said. “He learns from his mistakes; he puts those behind him; and he finds a way to continue to improve and get better.”