Houston Texans backup quarterback job is still up for grabs

Bill O’Brien and the Houston Texans have had two preseason games to evaluate Case Keenum and Tom Savage, and still haven’t made up their minds which man will win the job as backup to starter Ryan Fitzpatrick.

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Will it be returning 2013 sometime-starter Keenum or 2014 rookie draft pick Savage? Head coach O’Brien says it’s still up in the air, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The coach talked about the two candidates and what each brings to the table.

“I felt like (Keenum) moved the team, and that was good to see, and then Tom is still a little bit behind Case,” O’Brien said. “Tom has just got to keep working at it. But I think that both guys, they’re fun to coach.”

One gets the sense that Houston would love for Savage, a big-armed quarterback with a lot of upside but also a lot of learning to do, to grab hold of the job in the final two preseason games and allow them to move on from Keenum.

The quandary for a team like the Texans is, they don’t want to stick themselves with a backup who can’t perform in a pinch should the starter get injured, but they also don’t want to hinder their roster flexibility by carrying three QBs.

The best scenario is for your #2 QB to be a man with the potential to develop who you also trust in a relief role should your starter go down. But it’s not necessarily easy to find someone who combines those traits.

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