O'Brien: Texans haven't given up on Osweiler

Brock Osweiler was sent to the bench Sunday in what can safely be considered a long overdue move.

After showing well in relief, leading the way to a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and thus keeping the Houston Texans in control of their playoff fate, Tom Savage has earned himself a chance in the lead role.

While it would presumably take a disastrous performance from the third-year quarterback to relinquish the starting job thereafter, the Texans aren't ready to say they've lost hope for their prized free-agent addition.

"We have not given up on Brock Osweiler," O'Brien explained Wednesday in an appearance on Sports Radio 610.

Publicly voicing support for Osweiler is a nice sentiment. Just 14 games after signing the former Denver Broncos signal-caller to a four-year, $72-million deal in free agency, admitting the mistake would be a bad look for the organization at all levels.

But the fairly large sample size, in which Osweiler completed just 59.6 percent of his passes for 2,704 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, is more than enough to conclude that the splash signing has been a failure.

The offense was far more efficient with Savage at the helm this past week, and the club will almost certainly now look to ride that wave as long as they can down the stretch.

Savage continuing to impress and helping the Texans to the playoffs would likely give him a chance to earn the full-time job in training camp next summer. And there's always the chance that Houston stumbles upon a potential long-term answer at the quarterback position in either free agency or the draft.

Either way, though, the late-season benching is anything but a good sign for Osweiler's future in Houston. The coaching staff's decision to sit its highest-paid player at the most critical point of the season speaks volumes in that regard.