When asked this week if the Texans were considering Colin Kaepernick as a replacement for the injured Deshaun Watson, Bill O’Brien said that while the former 49ers quarterback is a “good football player,” he “hasn’t played football in a while.”

On Tuesday, the Texans pretty much shut the door on the Kaepernick talk by signing Josh Johnson, who has never proven himself to be a “good football player” and also “hasn’t played football in a while.” At least not real live NFL football.

New Texans backup QB Josh Johnson has not attempted a pass since Dec. 11, 2011. — Sarah Barshop (@sarahbarshop) November 7, 2017

Kaepernick had yet to start an NFL game when Johnson last attempted a pass. He’s attempted 1,687 passes since Johnson’s last attempt.

Skill-wise, there’s no comparison. Johnson has had trouble sticking on a roster and just lost a camp battle with Geno Smith for the Giants backup role. Obviously the Texans were looking for a mobile quarterback who is capable of running the offense they had put together for Watson, and decided to go with the lesser talent.

Texans’ lengthy evaluation process takes them to a QB with a 57.7 career passer rating who couldn’t beat out Kaep for a backup job in SF https://t.co/W7Ury6d7dW — Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 7, 2017

With Kaepernick, Houston had a shot at the playoffs. With Johnson? Not so much.

O’Brien is not the first NFL coach to come up with an underwhelming excuse for passing on Kaepernick. Packers coach Mike McCarthy berated a reporter who dared to ask about Kaepernick, saying he was happy with his quarterbacks, before pursuing Brian Hoyer a week later. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said he wasn’t considering adding a quarterback because he typically only carries two quarterbacks, which is simply not true.

What will be the next QB-needy team’s excuse for not signing Kaepernick? We’ve got some ideas.