While the NFL draft is still three days away, the Houston Texans are getting ready to welcome seven new players who will improve their roster.
How so? They’re back in the building for voluntary workouts, setting the tone for the upcoming season. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud met with the media for several minutes to discuss the offseason workouts, newest additions and news surrounding the upcoming draft.
Here were the highlights from Monday’s presser:
Q: On if this is the time in the offseason where they start to build the 2025 team
C.J. Stroud: “Most definitely, yeah. You’ve got to – I think these last two years were very foundational. And to have wins under our belts was great. But just learning from those years and pushing our agenda and our foundation, which is that S.W.A.R.M. mentality, on the new guys and the guys who are coming into Year 2 or Year 3. So, it’s exciting just to get another year under our belt. And it’s always cool to see new guys, new faces and it’s a better feeling being in the locker room and not just on your own. So yeah, it’s been dope.”
Q: On the difference in his preparation this offseason compared to his first two seasons in the league
Stroud: “Just the experience. Just more games on my belt. Not only games, but just an offseason, free time, OTAs, Draft schedule, things like that. Just comfortability with those types of things. So, it’s been the most – probably the best thing is just being used to how things go, trades and all types of stuff. It’s nothing you get comfortable with completely, but you find comfort in it more as you get more experience, I feel.”
Q: On what the conversations have been like between him and Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley
Stroud: “At first, it was just an introduction. Now we’re starting to get in the scheme of things. But just more feeling each other out as people. Seeing where he comes from being from Canton, Ohio, not far from Columbus, Ohio where I played ball in college. Just a lot of similarities when it comes to family. Just how much we love our families and how much we love ball. And he’s very personable, very – somebody that I’ve found respect for already just on how he approaches the game, how much he loves it. So, just very introductional, but also, as we’ve come into OTAs and we’ve been able to get on the phone a couple of times to talk about certain things. It’s been nice.”
Q: On his thoughts on his new weapon in WR Christian Kirk
Stroud: “I’m excited to be able to play against him the last two years, he’s somebody that you definitely have to prepare for if you’re playing against him. Now, it’s the other side where we get to work together. Somebody who I’ve heard amazing things. [Player Development Advisor] Mikado [Hinson] being from Texas A&M and being with him there said that he’s a great person. That’s all I’ve seen being on the phone with him, texting him. Now, meeting him in person for the first time other than being opponents. But yeah, he brings a tenacity, a raw ability just to run routes, fill the game, YAC, run after catch. I think he’s a very polished route runner and a leader, which is something that I’m very excited to work with him about.”
Q: On if he was surprised about the changes to the offensive line
Stroud: “That’s something I feel is not my pay grade. It’s just – I’m just a quarterback. But at the same time, you build relationships with guys and [Laremy Tunsil] LT, of course, who I know you’re talking about and Shaq [Mason], those are two of my best friends that I’ve come into the league with. So yeah, it hurts. Our front office knows that and they know how I felt about it and – but I totally understand and I’m not against it at all. I totally think that we’re heading to the right side of things. And I think something I’ve learned about Nick [Caserio] is that he has a plan. No matter what happens, he always has something up his sleeve. So, of course, sometimes you don’t know what that is, but you just have that trust and that’s something that I’ve – we actually talked about the other day having blind trust and having earned trust. And for Nick, he’s gained my trust in both areas. So, I’m excited, but I’m always going to be best friends with those guys and rooting them on and I still talk to them daily.”
Q: On seeing players like CB Derek Stingley Jr. and S Jalen Pitre sign contract extensions
Stroud: “It’s amazing, put a smile on my face. It’s not the goal, of course the goal is to be all-pro, to be one of the most respected, but that’s what comes with that. So, those two guys have done those things as some of the two most respected players in the NFL and to have them on my team and to see them get what I felt was due was just amazing. Me and 5 were actually just talking about that. I was in the building a couple months ago and we were talking about it and he really wasn’t sure. But I was like, ‘Bro, just – you put it on tape, man. Now you just leave it to the people you entrusted to do your contract.’ And to see it go out and see him be the highest paid nickel ever is just super dope and same thing for Sting. We all knew that, though. That dude’s a baller. So, yeah, it’s dope to see.”
Q: On how important it is to have Quarterbacks Coach Jerrod Johnson coaching him through the offensive changes
Stroud: “Yeah, I think it’s very important. Jerrod is somebody who has been with me since my rookie season, but also has known me since I was in high school, since I was 16 years old. So, for him to be here and seeing me in those different lights and those different points of my life, it’s been cool. So, I think it’s been great for him and [Offensive Coordinator] Nick [Caley] because Jerrod is specialized in quarterbacks and I think Nick is going to lean on him a lot in that area. And he’s going to give him a lot more responsibility, which I think Jerrod is due for and I think he’s going to do great with it and I told him, man, he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with. Just the way he thinks, the way he operates, the fact that he played and really, just the human being he is and I’m excited to see him elevate as a coach and to be more hands on is going to be amazing.”
On what his relationship is like with WR Emeka Egbuka
Stroud: “Me and Mek, we were very close at Ohio State. And it’s just time goes on, you stay connected but it’s just different not being in the same building and stuff. But, man, that dude, he can call me any time, that’s my brother for life and I’m super proud of him, just the man he’s become, a man of God, first and foremost, and just that leadership that he’s brought and I remember him being this number one recruited receiver coming into our school and he came in and just wanted to work. And so, I know that he’ll do the same thing coming into the league and he’s not going to have any problem adjusting. I think he’s going to be a long-time vet, just somebody who is going to make a lot of plays, reliable, going to block, going to do everything that you ask him to do, but first, he’s going to be a leader.”
Q: On where he hopes to lead the team and where the team is at the moment
Stroud: “For me, I believe in servant leadership. Servant leadership in any way that I can. My coach in college taught me the most important jobs, the only job really that a quarterback has is to make everybody. Whatever that looks like that’s what I want to do. It’s been nice, now that I feel like I got another year under my belt. More experience, more comfortability with just how the NFL works, how the league works, how the city works, everything. Just being a “quarterback in the NFL” is something that no one can teach you about, it. You got to experience it. Got to make mistakes, you got to fail. You have to do good, and you have to do bad. That’s what I plan to do, is just use those experiences to help others, and be a servant to one another. It says in the Word that iron sharpens iron, another man sharpens another. That is what I plan to do.”
Q: On how he feels about the new offensive direction and how it fits him
Stroud: “Yeah, he comes L.A. and New England and he is going to bring some of that swag over here. So, that kind of is what I’m used to. Taking control and being a little more presnap, having tools to put my guys in the best position. That is something that we really didn’t work on these last two years. Even those principles I learned from, and it made me better because it added a new element to my game. We will be able to just get better and learn from what he did with New England and L.A. and will definitely help me because those are two schemes I am used to in a sense. That is kind of what I ran in Iowa State, kind of how New England does a little bit. L.A. is kind of what we ran here these last two years. So, I will be able to put my swag on it, have fun with it. He is all about me taking full ownership, running the show, and that’s what I want. So, it’s really been really cool just to see that he’s bought into me and he doesn’t really know me well yet. He talked about today having blind trust and I have a lot of trust in him already. Just how he talks and how he presents in the room is really cool to see.”
Q: On what it was like to see the city get behind the Houston Rockets?
Stroud: “I’m excited to see them, in this game too. Just to see Houston live, I remember my first playoff game here against the Browns, it was cracking and turnt. It was like that in there, the crowd was ready to roll. It takes time for young guys, me being a young dude, I know it’s different sport, but it’s the same type of environment. It takes a little adjusting. The court looks a little different. For us, the field looks a little different. The stands, the lights are a little brighter. It takes time to get adjusted. Speed is a little more, you are playing against some of your childhood favorite players. For me, it was going against Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, it was like I am really going against some legends. I think for them, they will slow down, they will start to make their shots. For them to only lose by 10 and have a close game. I know I am sounding like an NBA coach, but for them to ekep it that close. I think they were like 4-and- twenty something for shooting. They will find their shot, in my opinion, I think they will be fine. I think Jalen [Green] is going to take over I love the whole team. I love Fred [VanVleet], Fred is nice. I love Jabari [Smith], they are all hard. I am excited to watch.”
Q: What he learned from Bobby Slowik in past seasons that he can bring with him in his career?
Stroud: “Bobby has taught me a lot about just ownership, taking real ownership on your job, and making sure that you what you need to do, play in and play out. That’s something I got better at as I kept on learning what everybody’s doing. Motions, different formation, just all the nine. I think it’s just cool, just to have somebody who came from San Francisco and came here and learn more. To see him open up our second year here and to see him try to learn new things and stuff. It was dope to see. I am always going to be a fan of Bobby Slowik. I think he has a lot of great things that he has done and will do in his career in coaching, and I am excited to see. I am really appreciative of our time together and definitely rooting him on.”