Who is the Texans’ backup quarterback?

HOUSTON – Houston Texans fans are making the trip from H-Town to Baltimore to support their hometown team in the playoffs. The Texans cheerleaders, mascot, and fans gathered in Terminal C at Bush Intercontinental Airport for a pep rally for the fans flying across the country to see the Texans play.

“Houston right now is on fire, and I’m pumped up for this game,” said Mirio Deleon, a Texans fan.

The sea of Battle Red is headed north to pummel their purple opponents.

“I expect them to go in and handle business and shock the world how they have all year,” said Joshua Moore, another Texans fan.

Playing on enemy turf, Texans fans are hoping for a road-game playoff victory.

Many Texans fans are hoping their favorite player will show out on Saturday.

“Look out for C.J. Stroud,” said Deleon.

“Singletary, run the ball. That’s what we’re going to do,” said another fan.

There were even some Ravens fans in Texas territory.

“We’ll see. The Ravens are good this year, so hopefully the Texans will bring their A-game, and it’ll be a good game,” said Christian Vito, a Raven fan.

“Our hometown team is our hometown team, but I think y’all have a really good shot at making it. Especially with all that cold weather because it is cold back home,” said Johnie Walker, another Ravens fan.

The Texans hit a home run in the 2023 NFL Draft when they selected C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State at No. 2 overall in the first round.

Stroud progressed at a faster rate than most rookie quarterbacks do, not experiencing the struggles nearly all first-year NFL signal-callers encounter thanks to his incredible level of mental processing.

Stroud put up a a 63.9% completion rate, 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and 5 interceptions as a rookie, making him a frontrunner for Offensive Rookie Of The Year. The Texans hope that success continues during the team’s playoff run.

He is an integral part of the Texans’ run for the Super Bowl, and keeping him healthy is the top priority for Houston.

But, injuries do happen — and it’s been quite the unlucky season for those across the league — so here’s everything to know about the two quarterbacks behind Stroud on the Texans’ depth chart.

Who is the Texans’ backup quarterback?

The Texans’ primary backup quarterback is Davis Mills, who played out his college career at Stanford and was originally selected by the Texans at 67th overall in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

In three seasons, Mills has completed 62.8% of his passes for 5,955 yards, 35 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. Over six appearances this season, Mills has completed 18 of his 39 passing attempts (46.2%) for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Once viewed as the team’s future, Mills has had several ups and downs throughout his professional career. In his three seasons with Stanford, Mills had a 65.5% completion rate, threw for just under 3,500 yards and added 18 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in Stanford’s highly-complicated West Coast offense.

Mills made his most recent game appearance Saturday with just over 9 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter as Houston led Cleveland, 45-14. He completed one pass for 6 yards.

Texans QB depth chart

Stroud is firmly cemented as the Texans’ starting quarterback, that’s not in question. Behind him is Mills, with veteran Case Keenum sitting in the third spot.

Keenum has played 11 seasons in the NFL and has appeared on seven different teams including the Texans, Rams, Vikings, Broncos, Commanders, Browns and the Bills. This is his second stint with the Texans.

Keenum has taken the field in two games during the 2023 season, completing 34 of his 53 passing attempts for 291 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.