Texans

Texans QB C.J. Stroud spoke at a recent humanitarian and referenced his four-interception collapse in the divisional round of the playoffs. He told those in attendance that he is grateful for the struggles, because people will notice how he responds to adversity.

“Of course, my last game didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” said Stroud, via Fox26 Houston. “Of course, I wish I had plays back, but I’m OK with suffering in front of people, because I know somebody’s going to see how I respond. We’re all going to go through bad days, we’re all gonna go through bad moments. I’m going to have bad plays, I’m going to have bad games, but my response needs to be in humility, in joy, gratitude, because I know my savior was on the cross for me. I’m so grateful to be in Houston. This city has welcomed my family with open arms. I’m just grateful for the suffering. Not only the suffering that people don’t see, but also the suffering that people also do [see].”

Texans

• Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC, Texans GM Nick Caserio said RB Joe Mixon had surgery this offseason, but still didn’t offer much clarity on the situation. 
• Caserio continued on Mixon: “We’ve talked to Joe. Honestly, it’s day to day. I think he had a surgery this offseason. I’m not trying to be evasive, but it’s a moving target. We’ll see what the prognosis is for the season and try to figure out what ultimately makes sense.” (Wilson)
• Caserio thinks the change of scenery for G Ed Ingram did him well and said they would look into bringing him back for 2026: “Ed had a great year. Honestly, probably had the best year of his career. For the most part, he was out there; he missed a couple of games there with injury. He’s a good kid, he’s strong, he’s physical, he plays violent in the run game, pretty good in pass protection. We’re working through that process right now.” (Wilson)
• ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime expects the Texans to try to upgrade from C Jake Andrews after Caserio didn’t rule it out. 

Titans

Titans’ new HC Robert Saleh gave his first impression of Cam Ward, saying the quarterback is always at the team facility and has a clear leadership presence. 

“One thing I appreciate: (Cam) is in (the building) every day, he’s working out, and I don’t think there is a day that goes by without him popping in and saying hello,” Saleh said, via Jim Wyatt of the team’s site. “I think he knows everybody in the building’s name, which I think is impressive for a young quarterback, for a young man in general. He is very personable, and that building is very, very important to him and you can tell he wants to lead it. And he is learning every single day what it takes to be a leader. A man who is built the way he is, who is wired the way he is, who works the way he does, it is very rare that those people don’t find success. So, we are excited to get to work with him.”

Saleh wants to take Ward back to “square one” and approach his development in different phases this offseason. 

“For Cam, I’ve said it before: We’re going to take him back to his rookie year, to square one,” Saleh said. “A lot of these rookies, when they join the team, you are already halfway through Phase 2 and you are in a sprint to try and get him ready for training camp and for Week 1. We can take kind of a marathon approach with him, where we have Phase 1, we have Phase 2, we have different ways we can approach him between now and Week 1 (of the season) to get him prepared. So, just taking those baby steps, learning everything it takes to be a quarterback, not just on the field but off the field. So, him just being his best and getting better every day will be good enough.”