Houston's quarterback situation is fluid. The Texans are exploring lucrative trade options for backup Davis Mills, aiming to bolster cap space and potentially boost C.J. Stroud's confidence.
The Houston Texans have some decisions to make during the 2026 offseason, and the organization should be strategic in how it approaches things after the way the 2025 season ended. There were clear weaknesses on the 2025 roster that need to be addressed, and the franchise needs to do what it can to get C.J. Stroud back to playing the way he did in 2023.
One way to improve as a franchise is making necessary moves in free agency, and in order to do that, a team must have adequate cap space. Houston is currently near the bottom of the league in cap space, but restructuring some deals and moving on from some players can free up more money. A player the franchise could move on from is Davis Mills, who is set to earn over $8 million in 2026. That is a lot of money for a backup quarterback.
Thankfully for Houston, Mills is a name that would draw significant trade interest from around the NFL. He has a good amount of NFL experience as a starter, and he played well when he filled in for Stroud during the 2025 season. ESPN's Dan Graziano recently spoke about how Houston is likely gauging trade interest in their backup quarterback, "Teams that have better-known backups entering the final years of their contracts -- such as Bagent in Chicago, Tanner McKee in Philadelphia, Will Levis in Tennessee, Davis Mills in Houston, Jarrett Stidham in Denver, etc. -- are seeing if there's interest and whether they can get trade value out of this offseason's odd QB market."
Mills is one of the handful of backup quarterbacks in the league that should garner trade interest, but he is definitely near the top of the list for some teams. Houston could probably bring in significant draft capital while also freeing up cap space by agreeing to trade Mills elsewhere.
Another factor to consider is the organization's confidence in Stroud. He finished the 2025 season in horrible fashion, and some members of the fan base have given up on him. People were calling for Mills to enter the playoff game in the Divisional round, so maybe parting ways with Mills would help reinforce some confidence in Stroud. It is hard to play good football when your backup is right on your heels, and there are people in the stadium who want to see him under center rather than you.
Trading Mills seems like a long shot, but going into the final season of his contract, now is the time to make the move.