Week 2 was a rough one for NFL quarterbacks. The Chicago Bears saw their starter, Andy Dalton, leave the game against the Cincinnati Bengals with a knee injury. But, Dalton wasn’t the only quarterback to get knocked out.
Carson Wentz, Baker Mayfield and Tyrod Taylor all endured injuries as well — each with a different level of severity.
Taylor, though, brings up the most interesting situation of them all. He suffered a hamstring injury on Sunday versus the Cleveland Browns, and now the Houston Texans have a big decision to make.
Houston plays on Thursday night against the 2-0 Carolina Panthers, and the team might be forced to activate Deshaun Watson if Taylor misses time. Typically, hamstring injuries linger. Therefore, it’s fair to say Taylor will likely miss at least this week. Without him, the Texans are down to rookie Davis Mills as the only other quarterback they can dress.
With a quarterback problem brewing in Houston, the Chicago Bears could trade Nick Foles to the Texans.
Assuming Dalton’s injury isn’t too serious (which it likely isn’t), the Bears could assist in the Texans avoiding a huge fiasco going forward. Let’s address exactly what could happen to Houston this week should they not engage in a trade.
Because of the allegations made against Watson, the Texans have decided to keep him on the roster but sit him all year long. The problem is, they now may be forced to dress him. If they choose to do so, then the NFL will have a decision to make. So far, the NFL has not had to do anything with Watson because they haven’t needed to.
The league might be forced to take action this week though. It could put Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list if the Texans plan to dress him. Suspending him isn’t exactly an option because Watson hasn’t been found guilty of anything. At this point, the exempt list is probably the route to go.
If that’s the case, then the Texans once again will have just one quarterback Thursday night. That’s not likely a risk Houston wants to take.
For the Texans, signing a veteran free agent could be the route to go. Or, they could opt to trade for a guy like Nick Foles. The Bears may be reluctant to deal Foles because they have come out and said they won’t trade him if he doesn’t want to leave Chicago. But, if they can get anything in return for Foles, this would be the smart thing to do.
Meanwhile, the Bears are going to be in for quite the quarterback controversy this week. Will it be Justin Fields or Andy Dalton against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3? That’s the real topic we’ll be monitoring all week.
