The Houston Texans already acquired a quarterback in the 2023 offseason.
As part of the opening of the new league year and free agency, the Texans signed Case Keenum to be the backup for their incoming rookie quarterback. The 2023 NFL draft will sort out the details of who exactly that signal caller will be.
According to Cody Benjamin from CBS Sports, the Texans’ two-year deal with Keenum is considered the 10th-best quarterback move of the offseason.
It’s a backup match made in heaven: A Texas native now on his third stint with the team, Keenum is an underrated off-script mentor whose experience in all kinds of systems — he’s started for six different clubs — should be instrumental to whichever top prospect Houston selects early in April’s draft.
Of course, Benjamin listed 15 quarterback transactions in all. Nevertheless the move was one that met the needs of where the Texans were at to start free agency. Houston wasn’t going to be big players for former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr or former San Francisco 49ers signal caller Jimmy Garoppolo. Houston is still in the midst of a rebuild, and adding that type of veteran talent could trap the Texans in a state of suspended mediocrity.
Not only does Keenum have experience with a variety of systems, but he has been a part of the Texans’ glory years. Although the former Houston Cougar was merely an undrafted free agent when he signed with the Texans in 2012 and was stashed on the practice, he was in the locker room at NRG Stadium when Andre Johnson, J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins, Arian Foster, Johnathan Joseph, Kareem Jackson, and Duane Brown were vocal leaders and leaders by example for the organization.
As long as Keenum isn’t playing for the Texans in any significant capacity, he makes for a good backup.
