Should the Texans Bench Brock Osweiler? (Of Course Not)

Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler has played lousily in his first season in Houston. And it got so bad Monday that now the local media is starting to wonder if coach Bill O’Brien might have a mind to put in Tom Savage or Brandon Weeden.

Well, of course he hasn’t, because that would be pointless.

Osweiler is in the first year of a four-year, $72 million contract. That sounds like a lot of money, but it’s more or less market price for an average starting quarterback. It’s $37 million in guaranteed money, but that isn’t an indication of high expectations. That’s just how much quarterbacks cost now.

Further, the Texans don’t have a viable alternative. The backup, Savage, is in his third year. If the Texans saw him as a starter, he’d have been a starter by now. For goodness sake, this is a team that has started Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, T.J. Yates, Ryan Mallett, Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer and now Osweiler since 2014. There has been plenty of opportunity, and Savage is 10-for-19 for 137 yards in his career.

Finally, the Texans are leading their division.

Maybe Osweiler isn’t any good, but all in all the season has been a success, and there isn’t much reason to believe the Texans would get any better by benching Osweiler now.