QB Tom Savage says he won't let anyone take away his starting role with Texans

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Tom Savage has waited a long time to be the Houston Texans' starting quarterback. After sitting behind Brock Osweiler for most of 2016, he heard the Texans were interested in Tony Romo this offseason. After that saga, the Texans traded up to draft Deshaun Watson in the first round.

Now, heading into the regular season, Savage is the Texans' starting quarterback, and he doesn't plan on that changing anytime soon.

"My mindset is that this is my team. And I'm not going to let anyone take it," Savage told ESPN.

"Now, I can't control what happens. I can only control what I can do. And I said it before. It's a pretty simple equation I think a lot of people overthink, especially in this league. If you go there and you win and you play well, they can't pull you. And if you go out there and you lose and the offense doesn't look good, they can pull you. So the goal is to go out there and play well and win games. And that's all you can really control."

After the Texans traded quarterback Osweiler to the Cleveland Browns in March, Bill O'Brien named Savage his starting quarterback, and has stuck by that the entire offseason. O'Brien said that Savage has earned the right to be the No. 1 quarterback, but like any position on the team, he has to earn that every day.

On Monday, Watson took first-team reps during practice. Savage has seen the majority of those snaps during training camp. O'Brien downplayed the significance of Watson's reps, saying it had more to do with how the opportunities lined up to continue to get Watson snaps during practice.

Savage started the Texans' preseason opener, and played for three series before Watson took over. Savage got off to a slow start, but on the third drive he led the offense on a 13-play, 75-yard drive that led to a touchdown. He was 9-of-11 for 69 yards, at one point completing eight straight passes.

"I'm proud of Tom [Savage]," O'Brien said. "He's a resilient guy. He's really worked hard to learn our system, he's worked hard in the weight room, he's had to overcome injuries. He's had to overcome a lot, and I think he's doing some good things out here."