Texans Likely To Draft QB, Won’t Pursue Romo

The Texans are likely to select a quarterback at some point in the 2017 draft, team owner Bob McNair told the media today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all Twitter links). “We need better performance out of that position, [but there’s not much available out there,” said McNair, referring to the dearth of quarterback options on the free agent market, before intimating that he’d hope Tom Savage is given the opportunity to compete with Brock Osweiler for the starting job in Houston.Bob McNair (Vertical)

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Veteran Cowboys QB Tony Romo, meanwhile, isn’t an option for the Texans, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, ruling out one potential fit for the 36-year-old signal-caller. Denver is said to be Romo’s preferred landing spot, although the Broncos may be more apt to pursue him if he’s released from Dallas (rather than being forced to finagle a trade). Cowboys owner Jerry Jones may not wish to see Romo land with another Texas-based club, and Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) reports Romo wants to join a team that will play the Cowboys in 2017, another factor against the Texans.

Houston is essentially stuck with Osweiler, who completed less than 60% of his passes for 15 touchdowns and 16 interceptions last season, as releasing him now would leave the Texans with a $25MM dead money cap charge. Even a post-June 1 cut would result in a $19MM hit, so the club doesn’t have much of an option other than retaining Osweiler for at least one more season.

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