Houston Texans name Ryan Fitzpatrick starting quarterback

Although announcing Ryan Fitzpatrick as the Houston Texans starting quarterback was rumored last week, there was no official word from the team on such a move.

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That is, until today as after meeting with members of the Houston media, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien announced Fitzpatrick as the teams starting signal caller.

“He’s a guy that earned the job,” said O’Brien.

While he might have ‘earned’ it, it’s not as if the Texans had a lot of options given their depth chart which includes Case Keenum, Tom Savage and T.J. Yates as possible alternatives. Simply put, Fitzpatrick seems to be the lesser of all evils given his extended NFL experience though the choice may frustrate a lot of Texans fans who were rooting for either Keenum or Yates to win the starting gig.

Rookie Tom Savage had emerged as a candidate in recent weeks, though, throwing him into the fire was likely too risky considering the long term damage it could have caused, especially given the risk/reward factor.

Of course, the anointment of Fitzpatrick to the top of the depth chart isn’t good news for either Keenum or Yates as the Texans recently expressed that they weren’t likely to carry four quarterbacks into the season, so both players appear to be competing for a single roster spot as Fitzpatrick and Savage are obviously both safe.

Houston will employ a run-first offense to limit the amount of passes Fitzpatrick will need to throw, which is good news for all parties.

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