Gators Graham Mertz Inks Rookie Contract With Texans

The former Florida Gators starting QB has locked down a professional contract with the Houston Texans

Mertz is officially an NFL QB / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The Houston Texans have signed their sixth-round pick and former Florida Gators quarterback Graham Mertz to a rookie contract. The four-year deal is worth $4.934 million, according to KPRC 2 Houston's Aaron Wilson.

#Texans sign sixth-round quarterback Graham Mertz @GatorsFB to four-year, $4.934 million contract @KPRC2 https://t.co/kI591tx5te https://t.co/9M4bQOnGuQ

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 8, 2025

He's the first Gators player taken in the 2025 NFL Draft to finalize a deal.

Mertz has a shot to come in and earn the backup quarterback spot behind Pro Bowler and 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud. Gators quarterbacks coach Ryan O'Hara was confident during Pro Day that Mertz would be able to lock down a backup spot.

"I think Graham Mertz is going to come into an NFL team and he's gonna battle for that two spot," Gators quarterbacks coach Ryan O'Hara said. "I've had about maybe 10 conversations with NFL teams. They're very excited about getting a young guy with a good skill set. He's big, he's got good mechanics, he's got the arm talent.:

Mertz feels his best assest for the Texans is the experience he brings in the leadership roles he's had.

"I think for me, I played a lot of ball. I've had a lot of experiences in college," Mertz said. "Obviously, I'm coming off an ACL, so I know it'll take however long the team doctor thinks before I can get out there and start playing. But my goal is be ready to go for minicamp. My selling point is, I've been a team captain four times in college. That's kind of hard to say. Had a lot of experiences, learned from them all, and I know how to lead men. Point blank period. That's how I that's how I go. But I've learned every step of the way through my journey."

He also said he feels having worked in multiple offenses during his college career has helped prepare him for whatever could come his way.

"Being able to have that true pro-style background, get under center, making Mike points, making checks, and then coming here and doing some similar stuff, but more out of the gun with pre-snap shift motions, then just the defenses you play," he said. "I mean, Big Ten, you see a lot more like zone-based teams, a little bit of man down here, more man match defense, a little bit of zone and then exotic pressure. So seen a lot of ball, played a lot of ball, lot of different offenses, different schemes.""

Mertz was the starting quarterback for one and half seasons after transferring over from Wisconsin. In 16 games, he completed 73.7% of his passes for 3,693 yards and 25 touchdowns to five interceptions. He tore his ACL in the 23-17 loss to Tennessee last season, which marked an abrupt end to his collegiate career.

Despite the early ending to his career, he managed to be taken by an NFL team. He was the 197th overall pick in the sixth round of the draft.

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