Houston’s quarterback room doesn’t blink much in August, but Saturday demanded a double-take: 14-of-16, 145, a dart to the back pylon, and a rookie who looked like he’d been running the huddle since OTAs. “Really proud of Graham… he played with great energy, great communication,” DeMeco Ryans said after the Texans closed the preseason with a 26-7 win in Detroit , a performance that came with meaningful reps and even more meaningful subtext as cutdown day nears. The stat line isn’t the story. The shift is. And it was obvious in real time.

That pivot matters because the context was blunt: Graham Mertz’s NFL debut was a three-pick slog in Minnesota that tested both the evaluation process and the patience of a staff that prizes poise and command from its QB3 candidates behind

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