Houston Texans Daily Roundup: Isaac Whitney signs with practice squad

The Houston Texans added to their practice squad on Tuesday by signing a wide receiver from the University of Southern California, formally of the Oakland Raiders.

Are the Houston Texans are close to turning the curve, overcoming mistakes and finally gaining a win during the 2018 NFL season, or are they further behind than they think and who knows what is in store for Week 3 when they host the New York Giants?

The Texans after two weeks have been described as disappointing, but they can also be described as interesting because they aren’t that far off from being 2-0 instead of 0-2. Getting to 0-2 after losses to the Tennessee Titans and the New England Patriots have been full of miscues and unpopular coaching decisions that have caused questions.

With that said the the Texans are still working on being the best team they can be, and on Tuesday they made a roster move to the practice squad. Here are Wednesday’s headlines about the Texans.

• The Houston Texans had a one paragraph press release on HoustonTexans.com on Tuesday stating they’ve signed wide receiver Isaac Whitney to the practice squad. The one sentence stated:

"“The Houston Texans signed the following player to the practice squad: Isaac Whitney, WR, Southern California.”"

This isn’t a signing that will change a team, but it is always exciting to see new wide receivers join the team, even if on the practice squad. Whitney was previously on the roster of the Oakland Raiders in 2017 for two games but recorded no stats. In two seasons at USC (2015-16) Whitney played in eight games where he totaled 144 yards on 11 receptions. He had two touchdowns at USC.

Whitney’s numbers don’t jump off the page by any means, but he is a player for the practice squad and it will good for that roster to add another wide receiver to their overall effort in practice.

• Princegodwin Onyia of House of Houston of FanSided wrote about Bill O’Brien and how he’s coached himself into the hottest after a start of 0-2. The article stated:

"“His acknowledgment of poor coaching or play calling has constantly provided Houston Texans fans with confidence that the coaching, of this consistently underperforming team, would ultimately improve.”"

It is true that Texans fans are losing or have already lost confidence in O’Brien and it is his and the Texans fault that they are in the current situation they are in. O’Brien has had success in the past elsewhere and with the Texans. Having just four wins in the past 18 games isn’t going to cut it with a team as talented as Houston is.

• Matt Lombardo of NJ.com gave an update on the injury report of the Giants, including writing about outside linebacker Olivier Vernon and getting more reps as he recovers from an ankle issue:

"“Olivier Vernon, sidelined since Aug. 26 when he was carted off with an ankle injury, should see an increased workload after not practicing last week but doing side-work with trainers during practice out on the field.”"

Vernon in 2017 played 12 games where he had a combined 37 tackles and 6.5 sacks. He also had an interception last season and two forced fumbles. If the Giants get Vernon back for this Week 3 game the Texans better be prepared for him, no matter how much or how little he plays. Having nearly seven sacks in 12 games last season makes Vernon a player to worry about this week when he’s on the field.

• Tweet of the Day

Not only are the Texans the league leader in rushing after two games but they have also set a franchise mark in rushing yards following the first two game of a season with their 315 yards combined through the first two games.

The Texans just need to get everything around them clicking with their rushing game and good things could happen. If this doesn’t happen, the Texans could possibly fall to 0-3 overall.