Houston Texans fans can expect to see some offensive starters, but C.J. Stroud won’t be one of them.
According to KPRC 2 Sports’ Aaron Wilson, the Texans are starting backup Davis Mills for Saturday’s contest against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. The veteran quarterback should play most of the first quarter before turning the ball over to rookie Graham Mertz and second-year player Kedon Slovis.
Stroud told reporters at The Greenbrier in West Virginia on Wednesday that he wanted to play in the team’s preseason opener Saturday. The reason? He said he wanted to feel the physicality of football again after being off-limits from contact during camp.
“I’d like to be out there and get hit once or twice or whatever just to feel the emotion again,” Stroud said. “It’s a little different in practice.”
Stroud will likely have the chance to see at least some action in the team’s other preseason games, including next week against the Carolina Panthers in the team’s lone preseason home matchup. Even if he doesn’t playing in the games, he’ll see action in the team’s joint practice on Thursday and later against the Detroit Lions ahead of their final preseason matchup.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans mentioned that while several starters will see action, everyone is on their own rep count.
“Everybody’s kind of on their own plan,” Ryans said. “We’ll have a handful of guys who won’t see time at all. Then we’ll have a certain group of guys who are limited. So, it’s just a lot of different guys in different categories there.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans QB C.J. Stroud will not play in Saturday’s preseason showdown vs. Vikings
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
