The Houston Texans made one of the surprising free agent signings of the offseason, and a contingency plan in case Deshaun Watson and franchise agree to part ways via a trade. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Texans agreed to terms with Tyrod Taylor on a one-year deal worth up to $12.5 million. CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora confirmed the report.
In 72 career games -- 47 as a starter -- Taylor completed 61.41% of his passes for 9,770 yards with 54 touchdowns to just 18 interceptions and an 89.5 passer rating (24-21-1 record). Only 1.4% of Taylor's passes have been intercepted, which is the same amount of Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes.
Taylor entered the 2020 season as the starter for the Los Angeles Chargers before suffering a punctured lung prior to what would have been a Week 2 start against Kansas City when being administered a pain-reducing injection for a rib injury. He played just one offensive snap the rest of the season as Justin Herbert won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Taylor finished 16 of 30 for 208 yards in his one start with the Chargers last season.
The Taylor signing comes less than a week after Texans head coach David Culley opened the door for a potential trade on the "Huddle and Flow" podcast with Jim Trotter and Steve Wyche.
"He is our starting quarterback right now. He is our starting quarterback," Culley said. "Things happen between now and then. We'll see what happens. He's our starting quarterback. -- that's right, right now. And hopefully in the future."
Houston has its starting quarterback for 2021 in case Watson doesn't remain with the franchise. The Texans next quarterback -- for at least a year -- could very well be Taylor.
