Why Texans QB Davis Mills is Not Traveling for Steelers Game

According to a recent announcement from the Houston Texans, backup quarterback Davis Mills will seemingly not be traveling with the rest of the roster for their upcoming Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football— a new development that comes a little more than 24 hours out from their postseason action unfolding.

Mills has been listed as questionable for the Texans' upcoming game in Pittsburgh due to personal reasons, leaving it remaining to be seen if he'll be backing up Houston's starting quarterback in C.J. Stroud on the sidelines as he typically does.

The reason being: Mills had his first child over the weekend, with him and his wife Tori welcoming Maximus Mills on January 5th, only a few days before the Texans' first playoff game.

Congrats Davis Milly. That baby is gonna see a Texans SB visit 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ExpXtQqI2C
— big ounce (@_bigounce) January 10, 2026

So, with the birth of his new son, there's a chance that Mills is out for at least one week against the Steelers on MNF, or perhaps he could make the flight to Pittsburgh himself a bit later than the rest of the roster. But nonetheless, his availability does make for an interesting layer to add into the mix for Houston's upcoming Wild Card outing.

Texans' Davis Mills Listed as Questionable vs. Steelers

Mills, who's been with the team for the past five seasons since his third-round selection in 2021, is best known this season for his heroics in the middle of the year for stepping in place of the concussed C.J. Stroud for three-and-a-half games from the second quarter of Week 9's game against the Denver Broncos until Week 12 against the Buffalo Bills.

When a starter, Mills found his way to three straight wins that were able to put Houston back on the map after dropping to a 3-5 record from the fallout of their Broncos loss, which would eventually snowball into the nine-straight wins that the Texans are currently still trying to add to as soon as Monday Night Football arrives against the Steelers.

Without Mills, the Texans' season might look vastly different than what it's turned into— making his role in Houston's midseason comeback an underrated, yet vital part of the story altogether.

Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills in the second quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

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Throughout his 2025 season sample size, Mills has put together 91 completions through the air on 159 attempts for 915 yards, a 57.1% completion rate, along with five touchdowns and just one interception en route to emerging as one of this season's bright spots when it comes to a backup quarterback.

His questionable designation could just be precautionary before Mills winds up traveling to Pittsburgh anyways, but if he is out of the mix against the Steelers, that would leave the Texans with just two quarterbacks on their roster for gameday in Stroud and rookie Graham Mertz, who's primarily been Houston's number three signal caller on the depth chart throughout the season.

Of course, the Texans' quarterback depth won't matter much so long as their usual starter, Stroud, is healthy and on the field. But if that were to shift, Houston might now have a chance at rolling out a different QB2 behind him in Pittsburgh.

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