{"id":39402,"date":"2025-08-02T06:50:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T06:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/39402\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T06:50:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T06:50:09","slug":"former-auburn-defensive-tackle-returns-to-nfl-with-houston-texans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/39402\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Auburn defensive tackle returns to NFL with Houston Texans"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"M5FZH5VWGZHABISC2TXRD4AOVY\">Two former Alabama high school standouts returned to NFL rosters on Friday and started training-camp work in preparation for next week\u2019s preseason openers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HMJBBBEU6VGSFLGE4IX3LVFSUU\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/auburnfootball\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/auburnfootball\/\">Auburn <\/a>alumnus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/topic\/marlon%20davidson\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https:\/\/al.com\/topic\/marlon%20davidson\/\">Marlon Davidson <\/a>signed with the Houston Texans, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/alabamastate\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/alabamastate\/\">Alabama State<\/a> alumnus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/topic\/Keenan%20Isaac\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/topic\/Keenan%20Isaac\/\">Keenan Isaac <\/a>signed with the Cleveland Browns. A defensive tackle, Davidson played at Greenville High School, where he was Alabama\u2019s Class 5A Lineman of the Year in 2015. A cornerback, Isaac played at Midfield High School. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZZ635YLT7FHO5FNYRJCUDLDDHU\">Davidson spent the 2024 NFL season on injured reserve. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/sports\/2024\/08\/titans-marlon-davidson-suffers-potentially-season-ending-injury.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/sports\/2024\/08\/titans-marlon-davidson-suffers-potentially-season-ending-injury.html\">sustained a torn biceps<\/a> while working with the Tennessee Titans in a joint preseason practice with the Seattle Seahawks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"XU2RBHUOFJDSRCBBZ3FKHOI4YA\">Isaac\u2019s 2024 season got off to a convoluted start, but he comes to the Browns after starting eight games and intercepting two passes for the United Football League\u2019s Houston Roughnecks in 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"FMIO4UIST5BV7NNZ2VASJORYPY\">After Isaac played in two games as an undrafted rookie for Tampa Bay in 2023, the Bucs cut Isaac when they reduced the preseason roster to the regular-season limit on Aug. 27. He landed with Carolina as a waiver claim, but on the eve of their season-opener, the Panthers waived the cornerback. On Sept. 10, the Buccaneers re-signed him for their active roster. Tampa Bay then waived Isaac on Sept. 20, signed him for the practice squad on Sept. 24 and promoted him to the active roster on Oct. 15 before waiving him again on Nov. 12 after he had played in five games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"X3CZYJHT3BBAPCDHY7LF5MINAI\">The Las Vegas Raiders signed Isaac for their practice squad on Nov. 20, but he did not play again in the 2024 season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"265SUSQUSFFHNEV6JGAG6SRMKA\">Davidson has played in five games over the past three NFL seasons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZLZJFFXTO5GLTKSOHCCFAFBS4M\">A second-round selection of the Atlanta Falcons in the 2020 NFL Draft, Davidson played in 19 games, started one and missed 15 as injuries and COVID-19 kept him off the field. He totaled 29 tackles, with one sack, one tackle for loss and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/sports\/2021\/12\/marlon-davidson-intercepts-tom-brady-scores-his-first-nfl-touchdown.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">one interception returned for a touchdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"QNHDXYU6WNAQVOGHUF6UZEX4ZE\">In 2022, Davidson began the season on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in training camp before Atlanta released him on Oct. 25, 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"22GSU6AXS5AMRH6LZ5Z7735GLE\">Davidson returned in 2023 as he went through the offseason program, training camp and preseason with San Francisco before starting the season on the 49ers\u2019 practice squad. San Francisco released Davidson on Oct. 4, and the Titans him for their practice squad on Oct. 25, 2023 &#8212; exactly one year after his release by Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"KMORQCHTUJDMVG3TFLB5ANUWHA\">Davidson played in Tennessee\u2019s final five games and recorded 10 tackles, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/sports\/2023\/12\/auburn-nfl-roundup-marlon-davidson-gets-another-sack.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">one sack<\/a> and two tackles for loss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HTXK22EMSZGGPGYWK7H4664SDI\">The Texans begin their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 9 against the Minnesota Vikings. The Browns begin their three-game preseason schedule on Aug. 8 against the Carolina Panthers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"HYWJJTQCGNHBHC5TKGMXYQMC3M\">FOR MORE OF AL.COM\u2019S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/nfl\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"low\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Houston Roughnecks cornerback Keenan Isaac intercepts a pass during a United Football League game against the Michigan Panthers on Saturday, May 31, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit.\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"hero-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/EBGA6ION3JEMHDJA7PFORUTDVY.jpg\" \/>Houston Roughnecks cornerback Keenan Isaac intercepts a pass during a United Football League game against the Michigan Panthers on May 31, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"VWUM3CZLBJG75G6MRWJUCESMXM\">Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AMarkG1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">@AMarkG1<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/user-agreement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/privacy-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two former Alabama high school standouts returned to NFL rosters on Friday and started training-camp work in preparation&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39403,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[634,64,63,30183,593,85,30185],"class_list":["post-39402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-american-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bestof","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-topix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}