Texans Training Camp: QB Competition Heats Up - Stroud vs. Mills

As the Houston Texans have begun training camp, the biggest position battle is a quarterback, where incumbent Davis Mills and rookie C.J. Stroud both hope to be the Week 1 starter against the Baltimore Ravens.

The Houston Texans are desperately seeking a franchise quarterback. And they hope they've found one. Former Ohio State Buckeyes signal-caller C.J. Stroud was selected by the Texans with the No. 2 overall pick in April's NFL Draft, and the team would like to see him be the answer.

The team hoped they found the answer back in the 2021 NFL Draft too, in the form of Stanford's Davis Mills. Mills was drafted to replace Deshaun Watson who was not only disgruntled with his status with the organization but was facing a mountain of legal issues.

Mills went 5-22-1 in 28 games that included 26 starts in a career that is now on its third head coach. And now, early in training camp, Stroud and Mills are competing for the starting role on Sundays.

As the first overall pick, Carolina's Bryce Young has already been named the Week 1 starter for the Panthers, but that doesn't upset Stroud who knows his situation is different.

“I’m happy for him, but his situation is his situation, and my situation is mine,” Stroud said Sunday. “So, I know that I’ve got to work on my end and do whatever I’ve got to do to make this team better. It’s not about the starter (or) who’s not the starter, it’s about getting better for Week 1 against Baltimore.”

Over the first two days of camp, Stroud and Mills have split first-team snaps. As just the third quarterback ever drafted in the third round by the Texans after David Carr and Watson, Stroud knows the pressure is on.

And while new coach DeMeco Ryans won't commit to a starter this early in camp, he is impressed with Stroud so far. “What you see about C.J. is the work and preparation that he does when he’s not here,” Ryans said. “He’s a true football junkie. He loves football, always watching football, always asking for extra cut-ups from our coaches. I’m so impressed with the mental part of him and just how much he loves the game of football. When a guy has that much love for the game of football, he’s (only) going to continue to get better.”

Although they're competing for the same job, Stroud credits Mills and backup Case Keenum for helping him make the transition to the pros after being a two-year starter with the Buckeyes. “I’ve learned everything from Davis,” Stroud said. “Davis and Case are great vets. And just because we may be competing against each other, doesn’t mean that we’re not going to learn from each other. I’ve had a really great time being in the room with those guys.”

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