New coach Bill O'Brien made it clear two weeks ago that the Houston Texans have a "wide open" competition at quarterback.
Now he's hinting that one of his four signal-callers won't make it through training camp.
"Anytime you have four, I don't think it's easy to divide the reps," O'Brien said Monday. "I think you can really get three guys reps in a practice, which is basically what we've been doing, and I know that's probably not the easiest thing for those guys.
"We haven't really talked about the roster yet as it relates to training camp. ... It's a very competitive situation."
Not only do O'Brien's comments seem to rule out any lingering possibility of a Ryan Mallett trade, they also suggest that either T.J. Yates or Case Keenum will not make the final roster.
Since O'Brien took over, the Texans have signed Ryan Fitzpatrick and drafted Tom Savage. Keenum and Yates are holdovers from the Gary Kubiak regime.
Keenum could be the Week 1 starter or the recipient of a visit from the Turk. That just about sums up the Texans' quarterback conundrum.
*The latest Around The League Podcast picks the best receiver group in the NFL, and goes deep previewing the season with Bucky Brooks. *
