The Houston Texans came into the offseason looking to upgrade on offense, and the team did just that by signing quarterback Brock Osweiler and running back Lamar Miller to free agent deals. Osweiler and Miller were two of the top available players on the market, and they will now share a backfield in Houston.
The Texans signed Osweiler to a four-year deal worth $72 million despite the fact that he has only had seven career starts. The Denver Broncos made a play to keep Osweiler, which drove up his price a bit, but the quarterback opted to sign in Houston over staying with the defending Super Bowl champions. The Texans started Brian Hoyer in the playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs last season, but that game was a disastrous performance by Hoyer and highlighted the major need at quarterback.
While Osweiler has had limited experience since coming into the NFL, he has had the chance to learn behind Manning for a few years in Denver. The quarterback also helped the Broncos earn the number one seed in the playoffs last season while stepping in while Manning was injured. Osweiler ended up appearing in eight games overall, throwing for 1,967 yards, 10 touchdowns with six interceptions.
"The Houston Texans are already a great football team, nobody needs to come in here and work a miracle," Osweiler said. "I'm just going to try to be the best me I can possibly be to add to this football team."
The Texans defense was one of the best units in football last season, and one could argue that some better play at quarterback could have propelled the team deep into the playoffs. The team used four different starters last season, which prompted head coach Bill O'Brien and general manager Rick Smith to focus hard on the position in the offseason. However, the Texans didn't stop there.
The Texans needed to address the running back position as well, and they did that by bringing in Miller, who was considered by many around the league to be the best available running back on the market. Houston released Arian Foster after another injury-plagued season, opening up the position for a new starter.
Miller now takes over after torching the Texans for over 200 total yards in a win for the Dolphins last season. The running back felt that he was not utilized enough last season with Miami and that Houston would give him a better opportunity to be a feature back. Last season, Miller rushed for 872 yards and eight touchdowns after putting up 1099 yards the previous season. Foster was released after missing the majority of the season with injuries.
"We just want to get better every day," Texans owner Bob McNair said. "Certainly this is a day when we got a lot better."
