Texans' Davis Mills: Confirmed as Week 3 starter

Mills will start at quarterback Thursday against the Panthers, Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Tyrod Taylor is on track to sit out Thursday and likely additional contests after going down with a hamstring injury in Sunday's loss to the Browns. That leaves Mills, a rookie third-round pick, in line for a multi-game run atop the depth chart. Mills' initial work in relief of Taylor wasn't promising; he completed eight of 18 attempts for 102 yards, one touchdown and one interception while fumbling once on 33 snaps against Cleveland. For as long as the Texans can keep things close with the heavily favored Panthers, look for them to favor a run-heavy game plan, but a negative game script could lead to some high passing volume for Mills. Houston is expected to elevate Jeff Driskel from the practice squad to back up Mills, as coach David Culley has already indicated that Deshaun Watson won't be active Week 3 in spite of Taylor's absence.