HOUSTON — When the Houston Texans used the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft on Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud, it meant one of Davis Mills or Case Keenum will be playing elsewhere during the upcoming season.
Stroud is not a lock to start Week 1, as new head coach DeMeco Ryans will want to make absolutely sure his quarterback of the future is ready before they throw him into the fire. Mills was the starter for 15 games last season, but his league-leading 15 interceptions and pedestrian 61% completion rate leave a lot to be desired - and likely won't keep him playing over Stroud for long.
Still, Mills is just 24 years old, and Locked on Texans host Coty Davis believes there are a few landing spots that could benefit the former Stanford product if the team chooses to keep Keenum and make Mills available via trade.
"There are three teams that I'm looking at where I think this could be a better situation for Davis Mills," Davis said. "And not only that, they can give him an opportunity to go out there to showcase that he can be a starting quarterback for the next couple years."
Davis mentions the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as potential trade partners for Mills, and he believes Houston could land a late round pick for the 24-year-old - which they could try to use to move up in next year's draft.
Mills could serve as an understudy for 34-year-old Kirk Cousins in Minnesota or 35-year-old Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles, who flirted with the idea of retirement last season thanks to a spinal cord injury.
Meanwhile, Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht said they want to add another quarterback to their squad, which currently boasts Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, and getting a young development option in Mills makes a lot of sense.
Houston does not need to move on from Mills, especially until they have a better idea of how NFL ready Stroud is, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him shopped this summer if the team thinks they can land a draft pick and feel okay rolling into 2023 with Stroud and Keenum in the quarterback room.