The Houston Texans have a really tight wide receiver room.
Even though they are all competing, they are also all supporting each other. This is especially true for second-year weapons Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins, who are like brothers from their time at Iowa State, so much so that Higgins was one of the groomsmen in Noel's wedding.
It's why Noel was so emotional after learning that Higgins tore his ACL and would be out for the season.
"Yeah, it's really tough," Noel said. "Just knowing the work he put in, knowing the person he is, just a person that goes out every day with a chip on his shoulder to get better and just honestly becoming one of the [leaders] by example on this team and him making spectacular plays every day. It's really hard when you see somebody of that caliber go down. That being my brother, honestly, he was at my wedding, one of the best men at my wedding. Seeing him go through that is hard. But just like he was there for me while I was going through my injuries, I'm going to be there for him. He's going to come back better than when he left."
In the meantime, the Texans traded for wide receiver Kayshon Boutte to boost their wide receiver room. Boutte spent the past three seasons with the New England Patriots and played in most of the Patriots' games last season, including all four of their playoff games. In the divisional round win over Houston, Boutte had his best postseason performance, totaling three receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown.
New England's wide receiver room became very crowded in the offseason with the signing of free agent Romeo Doubs and trading for A.J. Brown, so they really did not need Boutte anymore.
However, he will play a key role in the Texans' offense this year as the No. 2 wide receiver.
The Texans close out the preseason on Friday against the Carolina Panthers.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans WR Jaylin Noel on WR Jayden Higgins' torn ACL: "it's really tough"
