Davis Mills is undefeated as the Houston Texans’ starting quarterback this season, and he spoke candidly about his role in light of that and some noteworthy comments about the team’s quarterback situation from head coach DeMeco Ryans after defeating the Buffalo Bills.
Mills has been the Texans’ starter before. His strong performances this season have sparked comparisons and could see him earn another opportunity to prove himself again.
Mills made no bones about where he stands on his role or Texans starter C.J. Stroud.
Davis Mills Sets Record Straight About Role Amid C.J. Stroud News
GettyC.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans on the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills.
The Texans got good news before the game, with further confirmation coming that Stroud will indeed return in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts. That could leave a player in Mills’ position feeling left in limbo.
Not Mills, whose remarkably calm demeanor extended to his view on where he stands.
“In my current situation, I don’t think there’s a competition,” Mills told reporters postgame when asked directly.
“C.J.’s the starter for this team. I’m just doing everything I can to bring my best foot forward every day. Make everyone else around me better and try to provide and play my role to my best ability when I get thrown in there.”
Those remarks underscore Mills’ comments about his interactions with Stroud during the game.
“They were great,” Mills said. “Coming over to me and giving me pointers if he saw something throughout the game when I was coming back to the bench, and yeah, extremely supportive. Definitely ready to be back. He wants to get back. You can tell he’s itching to get back out there on the field. But he was great all night. Yeah.
Former Texans defensive back Lonnie Johnson Jr., now of the Las Vegas Raiders, posted on X that “Davis mills is a starter in this league.”
All of the commentary made Ryans’ seemingly innocuous comments stand out.
DeMeco Ryans Sidesteps Texans QB1 Question
GettyHouston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans looks on before facing the Tennessee Titans.
Stroud returned to practice this week and was close to gaining clearance. He was on the sidelines for the game, for the first time since his concussion in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos.
Ryans was asked directly, “Is he the starter when he is healthy, ultimately?”
“Oo, look at you, trying to come with that question right at the end, just dropping the – We’ll see what happens,” Ryans said with a smile. “No, C.J., it was great to see him back out there. He was back at practice. Just to see him back around the guys with a huge smile on his face, him feeling well. That’s the most important thing when our guys are in the concussion protocol. I just want to make sure they’re healthy and they’re well.
“That’s the one thing I’m most happy to see. That he’s well, he’s himself, and he’s ready to get back to football.”
Ryans is a players’ coach. He generally goes out of his way to shield his guys from unnecessary distractions, i.e, from the media. That is critical to deciphering his remarks about whether or not Stroud would step back into his starting role once cleared from concussion protocol.
DeMeco Ryans Praises Davis Mills
GettyHouston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans reacts against the San Francisco 49ers.
Ryans was far more open when discussing Mills’ performance in the Texans’ win, and the two outings that preceded it.
Mills drew strong praise from Ryans for shaking off a rough start to finish strong with a win.
“Started out a little shaky with 1-for-8 [passing], but then Davis was able to do what he says he does, just stay calm and collected, and really lead when you guys needed him to lead. Yeah, Davis has been, he’s been phenomenal for us these past couple weeks. Coming in, especially on a short week, not getting a ton of full-speed reps. That timing of throwing the football, that has [been] affected a little bit,” Ryans told reporters postgame.
“I thought he weathered the storm, and he handled himself well. Even though we had some passes there we would like to connect on, he still stayed steady, still stayed calm as he always does, keeping everybody else calm on the sideline.”
Ryans praised Mills, who had 153 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions on 53.3% completion. He said he did a “great job” on an “outstanding” two-minute drive before halftime.
“That was huge for us,” Ryans said.
Mills is 8-19-1 as a starter, and has a 719-5-1 line on 58.3% completion in his three starts for the Texans this season. While he may not be in line to usurp Stroud, and that remains the case, Mills could certainly garner attention from another team this coming offseason.
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