The Houston Texans are a team to take seriously. They are talented, well-coached, and most importantly; deep. They're a team that seems to be two-deep at most positions on the team, and that includes at quarterback. While there seems to be some discussion, the going thought is that Davis Mills will backup C.J. Stroud. Mills, the team's former starter, remains a very good quarterback and could arguably claim to be a top-40 guy at the position.
Yet, beyond Stroud and Mills, conversations arise over who should be the team's third-string quarterback. Case Keenum is the guy in that spot for now, but some believe he should be the team's true backup. Others don't think Keenum is that guy at all anymore and isn't worth holding on even as a third-stringer.
After the Texans win over the Los Angeles Rams to close out the final preseason game of the season, even more people think that. Not just that, but the fourth-stringer on the team, Tim Boyle, may have just exacerbated Keenum's departure. PFF has Boyle out-performing both Mills and Keenum over his two games as the team's backup.
He out-performed Keenum this preseason, albeit only barely. Boyle out-passed everyone on the team but proved to be better than Keenum at avoiding sacks. Considering we're talking about the third-string quarterback, it's fair to consider the smallest differences between the players. Boyle and Keenum are fairly similar in a lot of ways, but Boyle seems to be better at evading the pass rush and has a bit stronger of an arm.
He's not as accurate as Mills or Stroud but the hope is that if Boyle plays, it's in garbage time.
With Mills being long-traveled in the system so far, and throwing nearly 70% of his passes for completions, it's fair to assume he's the team's backup. After all, no one outperformed him on the field this preseason. After him, however, you could make a case for Keenum or Boyle but if you look at who just moves better in the pocket, it's clear that Keenum isn't what he once was.
Keenum could be traded for a very late round pick.
