Matt Schaub: Is this the end for Texans’ QB?

Matt Schaub will be in the NFL in 2014, and he may even play; but it’s highly doubtful that he’ll be with the Houston Texans.

At one point Schaub was one of the hottest commodities in the NFL. He was backing up Mike Vick in Atlanta and looked so good when he saw game action that the Houston Texans traded for him in 2007, giving up two second-round picks.

Schaub got his chance in the spotlight, he got his money, and for the most part it looked like a great fit for both parties. Everyone knew that Schaub may never be a Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers; but he was certainly good enough to lead that second-tier of good-to-great quarterbacks in the NFL.

With a good running game and a good defense, Houston could win many games with Schaub at quarterback.

And the Texans did.

They slowly but surely became an up-and-coming team that the NFL had to pay attention to, and that culminated last season in the franchise’s first playoff win.

Somehow though, and there’s never really one reason, the wheels fell off in 2013. Arian Foster got hurt, and after winning its first two games of the season, Houston hasn’t won a game since. Head coach Gary Kubiak was fired, and after a plethora of interceptions, Schaub was benched in favor of rookie Case Keenum.

Schaub has seen action since then, but the results haven’t been different. He threw an interception against Jacksonville in Week 14 and threw two against Denver last weekend at Reliant Stadium. According to  Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com, his very last throw as Texans’ quarterback at Reliant could very well end up being an interception; and Schaub seemed resigned to that fact as well:

"The Matt Schaub era has likely ended in Houston. What’s likely the last pass he’ll throw as the home starting quarterback at Reliant Stadium was a deep ball that resulted in an interception.“It has definitely crossed my mind,” Schaub said. “I didn’t want to think too far ahead, but you know, I’ve played this game long enough. I know how things work, so you know it definitely crossed my mind.”"

The NFL is a tough league where past accomplishments or hype only get you so far. It’s all about production and if you’re a quarterback; the expectations are high.

Perhaps none understand the gravity of the position more than Matt Schaub.