Former Wisconsin Badges QB had nightmare NFL preseason debut and social media roasted him for it

Former Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz had a rough preseason outing for the Houston Texans, and he became the butt of a lot of jokes on social media.

Jul 23, 2025; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Graham Mertz (18) during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

It's hard for a quarterback to start his NFL career much worse than Graham Mertz did Saturday.

The former Wisconsin Badgers starter made his preseason debut for the Houston Texans, and he threw three interceptions while completing seven passes for only 28 yards.

Graham Mertz in his preseason debut:

7-of-14
28 passing yards
0 TDs
3 INTs
1-9-0 rushing linepic.twitter.com/7StSBmOB9n

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) August 9, 2025

All of those passes came in the third and fourth quarter against the backups and third-string players for the Minnesota Vikings.

It was a bit of a surprise when the Texans drafted Mertz in the sixth round this year after he missed most of his final collegiate season at Florida with a knee injury.

It's been a difficult stretch for his football career, and fans on social media aren't making it any easier for him.

Graham Mertz get ready to learn GEICO insurance buddy https://t.co/s9zAcr72Vp

— R (@DownBadDolphins) August 10, 2025

We got graham mertz throwing NFL passes????? These are the plumbers they said played with Jordan

— Napolean Bonaparte (@NapoleanSkete) August 10, 2025

Remember when boyz was braggin up “Graham Mertz” calling him Killa Mertz😂😂😂

— Todd Golden Saved My Life (@UFPJR) August 10, 2025

We got Wisconsin Graham Mertz today instead of Florida Graham Mertz. Woof

— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) August 9, 2025

A bad performance like this is always going to come with criticism, but at least some fans had some empathy for the struggles Mertz went through.

Really cool that Graham Mertz got drafted even after the ACL tear, but yeah…

He’s never had NFL talent in my eyes and was super frustrating to watch at Florida. https://t.co/4D5LswDVTw

— Camden (@Camden_Cash) August 10, 2025

None of these people are watching the game but I won't let them talk bad about Graham Mertz, the team around him has been making a lot of mistakes today

— David (@dav_ray71) August 9, 2025

Safe to say Graham Mertz didn’t provide the Shedeur experience his first outting 🤷🏾‍♂️. Get em next game rook 🤞🏾

— BLASTOFF ENTERTAINMENT LLC (@Blastoff_Ent) August 9, 2025

A first impression like this is going to stick with Mertz for a little bit, but it doesn't have to define the rest of his career.

He'll have two more preseason games to redeem himself and show Houston why he was worth investing in with a late-round draft pick.

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