He played college football at Rutgers, Arizona, and Pittsburgh and was selected by the Houston Texans in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL draft.

After an offseason stint with the New Orleans Saints in 2018, he spent parts of the 2018 regular season with the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals without seeing any game action.

[1][2][3] At Cardinal O'Hara High School, Savage was a member of the Lions football team for four years and started at quarterback for three.

[9] In arguably his best game of the year, he completed 14-of-27 passes for a season-high 294 yards and two touchdowns against the University of Central Florida in a 45–24 victory in the 2009 St. Petersburg Bowl.

[12] Early in the season, he was sidelined by a hand injury and replaced with freshman quarterback Chas Dodd.

[19] On August 14, 2013, Pitt head coach Paul Chryst officially named Savage the starting quarterback for the 2013 season opener against Florida State.

[27] Two weeks later, he had his first significant playing time after Ryan Fitzpatrick broke his leg against the Indianapolis Colts.

On December 18, 2016, Savage entered the Week 15 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second quarter after starter Brock Osweiler was benched after throwing for 48 yards and back-to-back first-half interceptions.

[32] In that game, he completed 18 of 29 passes for 176 yards in the narrow 12–10 victory, clinching the AFC South title for the Texans.

[33][34] During the regular-season finale against Titans, Savage completed five of eight passes for 25 yards before leaving the eventual 24–17 road loss in the second quarter with an apparent concussion, but later returned to the game for one play, which was a kneel down at the end of the half.

[38] Due to his injury, Osweiler started in the Wild Card Round against the Oakland Raiders, which the Texans won by a score of 27–14.

[39][40] Shortly after the game, head coach Bill O'Brien announced that Osweiler would remain the team's starter for the Divisional Round against the New England Patriots.

[43] In 2017, Savage was competing for the Texans' starting job after the team drafted Deshaun Watson in the first round.

Savage completed 7-of-13 passes for 62 yards, was sacked six times, and fumbled twice, including one that was returned for a touchdown by defensive end Dante Fowler, making the score 19–0 at halftime.

[55] In the next game against the San Francisco 49ers, Savage completed six of 12 passes for 63 yards before leaving the eventual 26–16 loss late in the second quarter after suffering a concussion.