Osweiler Departing Denver to Sign with Houston Texans
Kalispell quarterback leaving Broncos after four seasons
By Dillon Tabish
Everything’s bigger in Texas, including the new quarterback in Houston.
Brock Osweiler, the 6-foot-7 Kalispell product and 2009 Flathead High School graduate, is signing with the Houston Texans.
Osweiler hit the free agent market on Wednesday with the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans in hot pursuit of the young quarterback.
Now it appears the former Brave is destined for Texas as one of the highest paid signal callers in the league.
ESPN’s analyst Adam Schefter reported that Osweiler will sign a four-year, $72 million deal, including $37 million guaranteed. The NFL Network first reported Osweiler’s decision.
Osweiler, 25, is leaving the Mile High City and the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, where he spent the last four seasons after being drafted in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Osweiler is gaining a fresh start with a team that has desperately sought a franchise quarterback and playoff success since its inception 14 years ago. The team is 97-127 overall in that stretch and 2-3 in the playoffs. The Texans went 9-7 last season and won the AFC South with Brian Hoyer as the starting quarterback but lost in the first round to the Kansas City Chiefs, 30-0.
»»» Click here to read about Osweiler’s tutelage in Denver.
If Osweiler earns the starting role, as is presumed, he will have one of the NFL’s rising stars to throw to in DeAndre Hopkins. The 23-year-old wide receiver had 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
The Texans also signed running back Lamar Miller on Wednesday.
Osweiler spent most of the last four seasons as the backup to Peyton Manning, but this past year he earned a starting spot for seven weeks after Manning was injured. Under Brock as the starter, Denver went 5-2, defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and secured a No. 1 seed and home field advantage in the playoffs. In the final game of the regular season, he returned to the sidelines after Peyton Manning resumed his pursuit of a Super Bowl title.
The Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California on Feb. 7.
Osweiler has 2,126 career passing yards and 11 TDs and six interceptions.