Davis Mills

FA: Davis Mills dropped

Drops: Davis Mills

Waiver: Davis Mills added

Adds: Davis Mills

Waiver: Davis Mills added

Adds: Davis Mills

FA: Davis Mills dropped

Drops: Davis Mills

C.J. Stroud leads Texans to TD on his one series

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud did play. He didn’t play long. In his first game action since his meltdown in the postseason in New England, Stroud played 10 plays in the first possession and led the Texans to a touchdown. He took a seat after Woody Marks’ 20-yard touchdown run. Stroud went 4-for-6 for 27 yards, and Marks had four carries for 37 yards and one catch for 6 yards. The Texans took a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Rookie linebacker Wade Woodaz returned an interception of Fernando Mendoza 80 yards for a touchdown, and Ka’imi Fairbairn added a 51-yard field goal on an eight-play, 33-yard drive directed by backup quarterback Davis Mills. Stroud had seven turnovers in two playoff games, including four interceptions against the Patriots in the divisional round

Texans QB Graham Mertz believed to have a torn ACL

Texans quarterback Graham Mertz is believed to have suffered a season-ending torn ACL during Thursday night's game. He was 4-of-7 for 23 yards before exiting. Davis Mills started the game and returned after Mertz's injury. The team may need to add a third quarterback if the diagnosis is confirmed

Texans third-string QB Graham Mertz leaves with injury

Backup quarterback Davis Mills was expected to play only one series in Thursday night’s preseason opener for the Texans. Indeed, he left after throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jared Wayne, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the Texans’ first drive. Third-stringer Graham Mertz replaced Mills when the Texans got the ball back with 52 seconds left in the first quarter. The plan was for Mertz to finish the game, but on the final play from scrimmage in the first half, Mertz left with an injury. He grabbed his knee after a 9-yard scramble. Mills returned to the game to start the second half and likely will have to finish the game as the Texans do not have a fourth quarterback. The Texans recently worked out quarterbacks Seth Henigan and Jake Haener. The Chargers lead 13-7

Houston Texans Stock Up, Stock Down after the first week of Training Camp

Your one-week report card from Houston Texans Training Camp

Waiver: Davis Mills added

Adds: Davis Mills

Fantasy Football AFC South Snapshot: 1 key nugget from each team going into 2026

Scott Pianowski shares one thing that stands out for fantasy football for each AFC South team going into 2026

Ranking NFL contenders by backup QB situations: Mac Jones, Davis Mills headline best insurance policies

A quality NFL backup quarterback doesn't exactly garner the headlines of an All-Pro-caliber starter. It shouldn't. That said, the value cannot be overlooked. If a franchise's starter goes down for a game, or two, or six, the season could go in the toilet in an instant if they don't have someone who can come in and keep things afloat momentarily. So, while the last thing anyone wants to think about is the established starter missing time, it's good to have a quality insurance plan. Take last season, for example. A number of backup quarterbacks rose to the occasion, and their successes drove the playoff picture. A key reason why the Houston Texans overcame C.J. Stroud's absence after a concussion in Week 9 was due to backup Davis Mills thriving when his number was called. Mills went 3-0 over his stretch as the starter, which helped Houston mount a playoff berth. In the NFC, Mac Jones led the San Francisco 49ers to a 5-3 record as the starter while Brock Purdy was sidelined, and that helped them stay in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the conference until Week 18. Of course, maybe the greatest recent example of having a top backup is Nick Foles in 2017, as he stepped in for an injured Carson Wentz and led the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl LII title. With all that in mind, we're going to look at a slew of contenders and size up what their backup quarterback situation looks like and rank them. To draw a line in the sand for what "contender" actually means, we're looking at clubs that have odds to win Super Bowl LXI of +2500 or shorter at DraftKings Sportsbook, which gives us 16 teams in total. Starter : Josh Allen Backups : Kyle Allen , Shane Buechele Kyle Allen inked a two-year, $4.1 million deal to be the primary backup to Josh Allen, while 2021 undrafted free agent Shane Buechele is the third-stringer. Allen, who has been in the NFL since 2018, has starting experience (19 total starts), but hasn't started a game since Week 13 of the 2022 season while a member of the Houston Texans. In that game, he completed just 51.3% of his passes, tossed two interceptions, and recorded two fumbles (one lost). For his career, the 30-year-old is 7-12 as a starter, while completing 62.5% of his passes with an 82.1 passer rating. While maybe no quarterback can compare to Josh Allen, it would be a Grand Canyon-sized difference in the event they need to hand the keys over to Kyle Allen. Starter : Jared Goff Backups : Teddy Bridgewater , Luke Altmyer (UDFA) Not that long ago, Teddy Bridgewater was coaching high school football. After resigning from his post at Miami Northwestern Senior High School in August of last year, he signed on to be a backup for the Buccaneers and did see some action in Week 12 last season against the Rams . There, Bridgewater completed 53.3% of his throws for just 62 yards. The last time he started a game came back in Week 17 of the 2022 season as a member of the Dolphins . Now, Bridgewater is back in Detroit (where he served as a backup from 2023 to 2024) with the Lions and will likely serve as the top option behind Jared Goff, with undrafted rookie Luke Altmyer also in the fold. While Bridgewater has 65 regular-season starts under his belt and is above .500 (33-32) over that run, it's fair to wonder how much he truly has in the tank as he'll turn 34 during the 2026 season. Starter : Justin Herbert Backups : Trey Lance , DJ Uiagalelei Justin Herbert has been remarkably durable over the course of his career, considering the volume of hits he takes. Since entering the NFL in 2020, Herbert has taken the most hits (615) and the most sacks (225) in the league. That includes 129 quarterback hits last season, which was tied for the second-most in the last 20 years. While L.A. has invested in the offensive line and was simply dealt a bad hand with injuries to Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt last season, you'd think they'd pursue a better backup than they currently have in Trey Lance. Lance does have the pedigree of being a [... truncated ...]

Trade: Nico Collins

ToeClan Dynasty trade — GriddyONgrave received: Nico Collins. J😭E😭T😭S😭 received: 2027 1st round pick (orig GriddyONgrave) and 2028 1st round pick (orig GriddyONgrave)

Davis Mills - Set for QB2 duties again

Mills is expected to reprise his role as the Texans' backup quarterback behind C.J. Stroud and ahead of Graham Mertz for the 2026 season, Jared Koch of SI.com reports. Mills has served as the Texans' QB2 for each of the past two seasons, but he started in three games during the 2025 season while Stroud was sidelined due to a concussion. Mills led the Texans to wins in all three of his starts, completing 59.5 percent of his passes for 719 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while turning seven carries into 38 yards and a score in that span. Stroud hasn't had the same kind of production over the past two years as he did in his rookie campaign in 2023, and he committed seven turnovers across Houston's two playoff games. If Stroud has a slow start to the 2026 season, then that could be enough for head coach DeMeco Ryans to turn the keys to the offense over the Mills

FA: Davis Mills dropped

Drops: Davis Mills

Trade: Devin Neal, Trevor Lawrence, Davis Mills, C.J. Stroud

Ranking NFL's top 10 backup quarterback situations in 2026: Mac Jones, Fernando Mendoza among top options

Once, many years ago, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski were in Indianapolis ahead of a "Monday Night Football" game, and Gruden noticed Peyton Manning's backups weren't getting any reps., Gruden asked legendary offensive mind Tom Moore why that was the case. It berthed an all-time great quote. "Fellas, if 18 [Manning] goes down, we're f---ed," Moore said, according to Jaworski's account in The Games That Changed The Game . "And we don't practice f---ed." That's one way to view a backup quarterback. If he's on the field, the team is already in deep trouble. And in Manning's case, that proved true. When he missed the 2011 season, the Colts went 2-14. The other way to view backup quarterbacks is that they're important players and could be the most important player at the drop of a dime. Whether it's for a play, a drive, a game or more, having a good insurance plan is crucial. Last year, quarterbacks who weren't the Week 1 starter ended up starting nearly 130 games. Some of the NFL's top teams -- think playoff outfits such as the 49ers ( Mac Jones ), Packers ( Malik Willis ) and Texans ( Davis Mills ) -- got key wins with their starting quarterback out. Other teams lost those opportunities when their starters were out; the Ravens went 0-2 and managed a measly 13 points in Cooper Rush's two starts, for example. So, who's in the best shape if their starter goes down in 2026? These are the top 10 backup quarterback situations across the league. (NOTE: Excluded are three quarterback battles still TBD: the Vikings ( Kyler Murray vs. J.J. McCarthy ), the Falcons ( Tua Tagovailoa vs. Michael Penix Jr. ) and the Browns ( Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders ). Anthony Richardson's on-field lows have been as low as any passer, and when you add the significant injury history to the equation, it's fair to question why he's on this list. In 2024, when he started 11 games, he finished 33rd in expected points added per play, ahead of only Cooper Rush, Gardner Minshew and Will Levis . He was wildly off-target (17.6% of his throws were deemed off-target, the second-worst number of the last decade), and he threw eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It wasn't good enough. But the big plays, plus the idea that he could improve, earned him a spot. He led the NFL in yards per completion in 2024. Obviously, there were far too few completions, but the big-play ability is there, given his absolute bazooka of a right arm. Furthermore, Richardson's rushing ability is a major plus, especially on designed quarterback runs. He's a hammer at the goal line, but even more impressive, he had an 18% explosive rush rate from 2023-24, third in the NFL behind only Drake Maye and Kyler Murray. Could he have a Malik Willis-esque rebirth in another place, as a clearly talented player in need of refinement? Maybe. Could he appear in a pinch as a backup and be a disaster? Maybe. Could he appear in a pinch and have a positive impact with his legs? Maybe. He remains a great unknown. This is, quite simply, a bet on development and Ben Johnson. Tyson Bagent was a fun story three seasons ago, when, as an undrafted rookie, he led Chicago to a pair of wins in a lost season. Never mind that he threw two times as many interceptions (six) as touchdowns (three) in his cameo; it was fun, and the lanky D-II product showed some tools. Bagent has thrown six regular-season passes since Caleb Williams arrived in Chicago. But last year, right before the season, the Bears extended him on a two-year deal. If he's good enough for Johnson, who already looks like one of the NFL's top coaches, to deem him a worthy backup, he's good enough to make this list. The Eagles curiously traded for Andy Dalton in March, which seemed to signal Tanner McKee's time in the City of Brotherly Love might be ending. Selecting Cole Payton in the fifth round a month later only furthered that line of thinking. Yet here we are in June, and the Eagles have four quarterbacks on the roster. Maybe that changes betw [... truncated ...]

2026 Season Outlook

Mills was impressive when called upon in 2025, posting a 3-0 record and 5:1 TD:INT when C.J. Stroud missed time due to a concussion. Stroud had seven turnovers in two playoff games and is largely to blame for Houston's inability to advance further in the postseason. The Texans insist that Stroud is the starter heading into 2026, but continued struggles from the 2023 first-round pick could open the door for Mills to see opportunities in 2026. Prior to 2025, Mills hadn't started a game since 2022, but the 2021 third-round pick looked much improved compared to his first two seasons, when he posted a 5-19-1 record on a Texans team with much less talent compared to the present-day version

Trade: Jaylin Noel, Davis Mills, Kenny Pickett +3 more

Chicago/MSU League trade — 2013-14 Brooklyn Nets received: C.J. Stroud, Davis Mills, and Jaylin Noel. Dont Mean A Thing received: Bryce Young, Dontayvion Wicks, Kenny Pickett, and 2026 1st round pick

Hype Brewing for a Jayden Higgins Breakout in Year 2

Jayden Higgins has emerged as a potential Year 2 breakout, and head coach Demeco Ryans indicated that Higgins has made the physical leap needed to become a weekly fantasy threat

Woody Marks Should Have Plenty of Opportunities to Catch Passes

Although the Houston Texans acquired running back David Montgomery in an offseason trade with the Detroit Lions, second-year back Woody Marks should "stay fresh in a complementary role that should involve a lot of opportunities to catch passes out of the backfield," according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Sports. As long as Montgomery stays healthy, Marks won't have an opportunity to take over a three-down role in Houston, but he could still be very valuable for fantasy managers in PPR leagues, and RotoBaller has Marks currently ranked as the No. 45 overall RB in half-PPR setups. The former fourth-rounder out of USC in 2025 was a prolific pass-catcher as a Trojan and during his time at Mississippi State. Marks finished his rookie campaign in the NFL with a team-high 703 rushing yards on 196 carries after taking over the starting gig from veteran Nick Chubb. The 25-year-old added 24 receptions on 36 targets for 208 yards and three scores through the air in 16 regular-season games (eight starts). In college, Marks had at least 47 catches in four of his five seasons