Houston Texans: Is Tom Savage the answer at quarterback?
By Jarren Murrillo
The Houston Texans’ search for a quarterback continues after Brian Hoyer’s meltdown against the Kansas City Chiefs. Hoyer played a great season but the loss on wild-card weekend served as a reminder that Hoyer is not a franchise quarterback and is not the answer to Houston’s problems. The Texans need more than a game manager if they want to find success beyond wild-card weekend. The Texans did a great job bouncing back and clinching a spot in the playoffs this season, but what if they had a better quarterback? How far could they have gone?
With the 2016 NFL Draft coming up, the Houston Texans will look to find an answer to their quarterback situation. However, with the No. 22 pick, the Texans aren’t looking at any good QB options. With a late pick it seems unlikely the Texans will be able to draft a worthwhile QB, but instead they might end up drafting the best available player. According to mock drafts, the Texans might draft Andrew Billings who is a defensive lineman. The Texans have few options, but options nonetheless. They could try and trade up for a better QB prospect such as Carson Wentz or they could trade away their pick for a player and or a lower pick. It doesn’t bode well for the Texans. They might be looking at another year with an unreliable quarterback.
This season all the talk revolved around Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett and who would start at quarterback. But there was another quarterback by the name of Tom Savage who was also competing for the job. No one thought much of him and nor did they think he’d beat out Hoyer or Mallett. Of course Savage was taken out of the picture when he suffered a shoulder injury during the preseason which lead to him being placed on IR. However, Savage should not be overlooked. He’s got some potential and there’s a reason why he’s still hanging around.
There was speculation that Bill O’Brien had plans for Savage and was stashing him away. There were talks that Savage’s injury wasn’t a season-ending injury, but O’Brien placed him on IR anyways. With all the injuries at quarterback this season, Savage would have proved to be useful if he wasn’t shut down for the season. O’Brien likes Savage and has kept him around for a reason. Tom had a chance to take a step back and observe the locker room from a different perspective. Despite not playing, O’Brien said that Savage has learned a lot this season. It was important that Savage took a step back to see how things ran. He would sit in on team meetings and would ask many questions as well as answer many question correctly. O’Brien was impressed by Savage’s patience and knowledge of the game.
Because Savage was placed on IR, he wasn’t able to practice with the team. However, that didn’t stop him from improving his game. He said he did a lot of training over the season and he’s ready to get back out there and prove why he deserves to start. O’Brien believes that Savage has a future with the team, and his time off this past season may have been a learning experience for the better.
Savage will not be the long-term answer at quarterback, but he has the potential to hold the team together until the Texans do find a franchise quarterback. Although he won’t be a long term answer, he might surprise people in the future.
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