Houston Texans: Jimmy Garoppolo Not the Answer At Quarterback
By Luke Sims
The Houston Texans near a slippery slope if targeting Jimmy Garoppolo as a possible franchise quarterback in the 2017 offseason.
After the 2016 season, it seems clear that the decision to throw money at the quarterback problem was unsuccessful for the Houston Texans. Brock Osweiler is clearly not worth $72 million and found himself benched in favor of Tom Savage by the end of the season.
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Prior to coming to Houston, Osweiler had all of seven starts to his name and just 305 total attempts. While he finished 8-6 as a starter for the Texans, he simply isn’t doing enough to be the kind of franchise quarterback that can elevate a team to win Super Bowls. The 2015 Denver Broncos won despite Osweiler, not because of him.
Which leads to the foolish idea that New England Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo can somehow solve the quarterback problem for the Texans. New England isn’t going to give up Garoppolo for cheap (reportedly requesting a first round pick in a trade), so considering going after Garoppolo after giving up significant money for Osweiler the year before makes this a much more risky decision for the Texans.
To further add to the conundrum, Garoppolo isn’t even as experienced as Osweiler was when the Texans targeted him. Boasting just two starts (two wins) and 94 career pass attempts, a team would have to be foolish to double down on a young quarterback with limited production to judge him on.
The intriguing thing about a Garoppolo-Texans connection is that Bill O’Brien, head coach of the Texans, has significant ties with the New England Patriots, having been an assistant and offensive coordinator there. His time pre-dates Garoppolo, but coming from the Bill Belichick coaching tree presents a connection that shouldn’t be ignored as the Texans shop for a quarterback and the Patriots shop a quarterback.
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The Texans are built for a championship, but are missing a quarterback. This adds pressure to win now and gambling on another unproven quarterback looks like an increasingly enticing option for the Texans as the AFC South gets more competitive and the Texans’ window shrinks year by year. But the quarterback gamble has to be a good one. Doubling down on an unproven quarterback does not guarantee success and, likely, will only ensure failure.
At this point, the Texans need to seriously evaluate how they frame 2017 and the coming seasons. Are these the last years for O’Brien to prove he can do better than 9-7 and maybe get the franchise deep in the playoffs or do the Texans wisely show the true fragility of the team due to the quarterback position and commit to finding the right guy, either through free agency or the draft?
That is an important question to consider. While rumors fly of a Jimmy Garoppolo-Houston Texans connection, the fate of the franchise should be weighed more importantly than winning now.
Per a report in early February, the Texans intend to do just that. Walter Football reported that Texans sourced have said they are not interested in dealing the draft pick(s) required to bring Garoppolo to Houston. Whether that turns out to be true or not, it does help frame the conversation for the coming free agency period and 2017 NFL Draft. The Texans may want to do this right and bring in a proven quarterback or someone they have faith in who can develop.
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Being the only playoff team in quarterback trouble, the Texans are between a rock and a hard place. Don’t expect the Garoppolo conversation to die down, even with the early February report. But do keep in mind that the Texans need to be more judicious in their quarterback decision than they were in 2016. The Texans cannot risk missing again.