The Houston Texans are working on a deal to bring in Brian Hoyer at quarterback and that means the team will not look at trades for Jay Cutler or Nick Foles and this comes as an Andre Johnson trade or his release could be in the works, making players like Brian Hartline, Cecil Shorts and Torrey Smith potential free agent targets for Bill O'Brien and the Texans.
The Houston Texans need a quarterback for 2015 and it looks like they found one, as Albert Breer reports that the team is working to sign Brian Hoyer. Breer writes that the team should get a deal done by Tuesday and he will be the new starting quarterback. This comes as O'Brien may still bring back Ryan Mallett to serve as the backup and comes as Michael Vick, Mark Sanchez and Sam Bradford were options at the position.
The team reportedly is looking to trade or release andre Johnson and that could lead to them looking at options on the free agent market. Hartline has been linked to the Texans, while Smuith is also a target for teams on the market.
O'Brien brought in Mallett from the Patriots and while he was solid while coming in for Ryan Fitzpatrick, he eventually was injured and placed on IR. After injuries to Fitzpatrick and Tom Savage, O'Brien used Case Keenum to start this past week and moving forward the team may look at other starters for next season. According to Pro Football Talk and ESPN.com, Hoyer is expected to get attention from the Jets as well as the Titans.
The Texans have improved greatly from last season, as they are now 8-7 after finishing with the worst record in the league, but many have wondered what they could have done with a better QB. The team went with Jadeveon Clowney with the number one overall pick and he suffered through and injury plagued season and may miss the start of next year.
The Texans are ranked 26th in passing yards per game this season and fourth in rushing yards per game and that shows how much they could use a solid QB next season. The team has Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins on offense and those are some strong skill position players to have next to a QB. Adding Cutler or Griffin to that mix could be huge, while even players like Hoyer or Sanchez would be upgrades over what the team had this season.
The Texans have as much offensive talent as anyone and if they bring in an upgrade over Fitzpatrick, they could be a playoff team once again in 2015. The team considered a trade for Cutler after the Bears benched him for Jimmy Clausen in Week 16.