AFC South Notes: Colts, Texans, QBs

There has been plenty of quarterback shuffling going on in the AFC South recently, with the return of a healthy Marcus Mariota prompting the Titans to release Charlie Whitehurst, who was claimed off waivers by the Colts, who are without Andrew Luck for a few weeks. Meanwhile, the Texans, having cut Ryan Mallett earlier this year, grabbed Brandon Weeden off waivers from the Cowboys this week.

Today’s round-up of AFC South notes, in advance of tonight’s Titans/Jaguars game, focuses on those moves, so let’s dive right in…

• One AFC South executive expressed “displeasure and dismay” that the Titans would cut Whitehurst at the exact moment that the Colts were looking for a backup for Matt Hasselbeck, says Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. As Schefter explains, Whitehurst hasn’t exactly been a world-beater when he’s gotten a chance to play, but one AFC South source suggested he’d rather see the Colts have to rely on a less experienced backup.
• The Texans‘ motive for claiming Weeden? They’ll likely need a veteran backup of their own this weekend, since Brian Hoyer is expected to miss Week 11 due to a concussion, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. With T.J. Yates lined up for the start, practice squad signal-caller Zac Dysert would have been the next man up as the No. 2 if Houston hadn’t made a move.
• Zac Jackson of Pro Football Talk wonders if the Texans were also motivated to claim Weeden so the Colts couldn’t. Both teams have the same record, but Houston has faced a slightly weaker schedule, giving them waiver priority over Indianapolis. Considering Weeden used to play for current Indy offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, the Colts may preferred him over Whitehurst as Hasselbeck’s backup.