Houston Texans QB Tyrod Taylor ready to return, to start Sunday vs. Miami Dolphins

HOUSTON -- Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor will start on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, coach David Culley said Thursday.

Taylor has not played since the second quarter in Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns, when he injured his left hamstring. Culley said Thursday that there haven't been any setbacks with Taylor's hamstring injury and that the quarterback is finally healthy enough to play.

From the beginning of Taylor's time on injured reserve, Culley said that Taylor would return as the Texans' starter and that he gave Houston the best chance to win.

"Coach [Culley] said early on that I would be the starter when healthy and thankful that he stood by that," Taylor said.

Taylor has seen the opposite come true too many times before. In 2018, Taylor left a Week 3 game due to a concussion and was replaced by then-rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. The Browns won the game, and Mayfield kept the starting job.

And in 2020 with the Los Angeles Chargers, Taylor was named the starting quarterback going into the season. Taylor cracked two of his ribs during the Chargers' first offensive drive in the season-opening win over the Cincinnati Bengals but finished the game.

The following week, a Chargers team doctor tried to give Taylor a pain-killing injection just before kickoff and accidentally punctured Taylor's lung. Rookie first-round pick Justin Herbert started that game and every other game the rest of the season. Herbert went on to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Taylor said when he suffered his hamstring injury this season, he initially thought about his injury history and the fact it happened again.

"But that thought hasn't necessarily resonated since then," Taylor said. "It was unfortunate that it happened ... but I can't control it. You have to shift your mindset to getting back healthy and doing the things day in and day out so you stay on track so I could get back out and still be able to perform at a high level."

Taylor, who was placed on injured reserve before Houston's Week 3 game, said he was initially told it would be a four-to-six week window to come back from his injury.

"Hamstrings are tricky," Taylor said. "Typically, you feel good mentally before you actually feel better physically. So, you try to test it, you do as much as you can, but at the same time, you also have to listen to your body. You don't want to put yourself at a bigger risk coming back too early."

Taylor injured his hamstring while running in for a touchdown during the second quarter in Cleveland and said he immediately knew something was wrong.

"I knew that I was injured at the time, tried to jog off the field," Taylor said. "Still in pain, didn't necessarily know what it was, just knew that something wasn't right with the hamstring. Went back on for the two-minute drive. Got flushed out of the pocket one time and tried to accelerate and ... just tried to get to the halftime and basically see what the doctor said.

"Obviously, I didn't want to come out. Coach made the decision, thought it was best before I go out there and injured it even more."

Taylor returned to practice on Oct. 27 but was not ready to return in Week 8.

Before he was hurt in Week 2, Taylor had completed 70.5% of his passes for 416 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Taylor was replaced by rookie quarterback Davis Mills, who went 0-6 in his six starts and completed 67% of his passes with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions.

The Texans have been outscored by an NFL-worst 122 points in eight games this season. Houston's only win came against Jacksonville in Week 1 with Taylor under center.

Taylor said it was frustrating being on the sidelines during the losing streak, not being able to do anything about it but "lead in my own way" and help Mills the best he could. On Wednesday, Taylor was able to take part in a full practice in the same way he was before he injured his hamstring.

"I think our trainer told me yesterday ... I guess he read our numbers or my numbers from practice and was like you must have been excited yesterday just to be back out there," Taylor said. "Yeah, I felt like a little kid running around and being able to just be myself. So, you definitely miss it when you're not out there."