In Sunday's 29-7 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Houston Texans switched quarterbacks. The Texans started Tom Savage, but in the second half Deshaun Watson took over. Savage finished the game on the bench, and this did not sit well with his agent Neil Schwartz.
ESPN reported that in an interview, Schwartz vented his frustrations regarding the Texans benching Savage. According to Schwartz, it is nonsense. He also said that after watching all 31 plays Savage was a part of, he cannot understand why the quarterback headed to the bench. Schwartz then shared his analysis of Savage's performance and defended him against people saying that he held the football "too long."
On Tuesday, Savage also shared disappointment with what occurred Sunday.
He still aims to compete but will unlikely change anything in his game. The 27-year-old completed 7-of-13 passes for 62 yards and got sacked six times versus the Jaguars.
Watson takes starting role
Houston will likely have a new starting quarterback when the team faces the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2. Head coach Bill O'Brien is yet to name a starter, though NFL.com reported that the Texans are going with Watson. The rookie will be the ninth starter under O'Brien.
To many, Watson provided a much better performance than Savage in Week 1. The Texans were scoreless when Savage manned the offense, but when the 21-year-old came in, they were able to score. Unfortunately, in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars' defense prevented them from putting more points on the board.
In Watson's regular season debut, he completed 12 passes for 102 yards and one touchdown, also throwing an interception.
Brian Cushing suspended
In other Texans news, linebacker Brian Cushing will be out for some time. The NFL slapped Cushing with a 10-game ban for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
It is the second time the NFL penalized him for this infraction. In 2010, the 30-year-old veteran served a four-game suspension. The earliest possible return for him is on December 3 when Houston plays the Tennessee Titans in Week 13.
Even before the suspension, Cushing was already set to be on the sidelines when the Texans meet the Bengals tonight. In Houston's season opener defeat to Jacksonville, the 15th overall pick in the 2009 draft suffered a concussion. In one outing so far this season, he tallied three combined tackles.
