Tag: Texans rookie

Texans sign rookie DE Will Anderson

The Houston Texans signed No. 3 overall DE Will Anderson to a standard rookie contract.

The Houston Texans locked up one of their twin first-round picks.

The Texans announced Friday they have signed defensive end Will Anderson to a standard four-year rookie contract.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the deal is fully guaranteed at $35,212,818 and comes with a fifth-year option — standard among all first-rounder contracts since 2010. Anderson’s deal also includes a $22.609 million signing bonus.

The Texans picked Anderson with the No. 3 overall selection in April’s draft. The former two-time Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year is expected to bring an aggressive pass rush off the edge for Houston in first-year coach DeMeco Ryans’ attacking defensive scheme.

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WATCH: C.J. Stroud throws deep routes at Texans OTAs

Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud threw some deep routes during Houston Texans OTAs on May 31.

C.J. Stroud has his opportunities to air it out during organized team activities Wednesday.

According to video shot by ESPN’s D.J. Bien-Aime, the No. 2 overall pick threw deep routes during Houston Texans OTAs at Houston Methodist Training Center.

Stroud was able to connect with third-year wideout Nico Collins on the first throw in the video. Third-round rookie Tank Dell was the intended target on the second throw, but was unable to make the completion.

Stroud told reporters May 23 that his goal throughout the voluntary offseason program is to maintain continuous growth.

“I feel like I’ve done a decent job so far, but I’ve got to keep growing every day,” said Stroud. “It’s not going to happen overnight. I’m going to have growing pains and things like that.”

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Texans QB C.J. Stroud is early favorite for offensive rookie of the year

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud may be battling for the starting job, but he is still a favorite for offensive rookie of the year.

C.J. Stroud is focused on winning the starting quarterback job.

However, the rest of the football world believes the No. 2 overall pick will beat out Davis Mills and Case Keenum for the job and lead the Houston Texans offense in 2023.

According to Chris Trapasso from CBS Sports, Stroud ranks as his third-best candidate for offensive rookie of the year.

Stroud will make plenty of wow throws as a rookie. There’ll be some times when we all wished he was a touch more dynamic gliding away from oncoming defenders. Finally, the Texans appear to be moving in the right direction after two years of total stagnancy, yet the receiver group is far from menacing. Stroud will elevate those around him often but not frequently enough to garner major OROY consideration. 

The two players ahead of Stroud were Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson and Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.

Justin Herbert was the last quarterback to win the award in 2020. The Los Angeles Chargers went 7-9, and Herbert threw 31 touchdown passes.

The previous year saw Kyler Murray take home the award, and the Arizona Cardinals went 5-10-1 — a 2.5-game improvement from the previous year. Yet Murray threw 20 touchdown passes, added another four rushing, and tallied 544 rushing yards to bolster the notion that he was a field general who could beat teams in the air and on the ground.

Since 2010, just four running backs have won rookie of the year. Robinson would need to have an abundance of touchdowns and the material fortunes of the Falcons to change to win.

With the attention surrounding Young, the Panthers winning games may be enough to convince voters that he is the reason.

Stroud would need to approach 30 touchdowns and also have the Texans have at least a four-game winning streak somewhere on the schedule to shift the focus in order to make a compelling case for rookie of the year.

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Texans sign TE Jordan Murray, waive P Joe Doyle

The Houston Texans have signed undrafted free agent tight end Jordan Murray and waived punter Joe Doyle from their offseason roster.

The Houston Texans continue to fine-tune their offseason roster.

The Texans announced Wednesday they have signed undrafted free agent tight end Jordan Murray.

The former Hawaii product caught 10 passes for 70 yards through 13 games in his final year in college football. The 6-5, 240-pounder originally played four seasons at Missouri State where he had 99 catches for 1,196 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career.

Houston also waived punter Joe Doyle. The Texans signed Doyle as an undrafted free agent. The 6-0, 200-pounder was a redshirt senior who spent 2021-22 with Memphis, and had an NIL deal with Opendorse. From 2017-20, Doyle was a punter at Tennessee in the SEC East.

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Texans sign WR Tank Dell to rookie contract

The Houston Texans have signed third-round receiver Tank Dell to a standard rookie contract.

The Houston Texans have added another member of their 2023 draft class to the payroll.

The Texans announced Tuesday they have signed third-round receiver Tank Dell to a standard four-year rookie contract.

The 5-8, 165-pound wideout from Houston caught 109 passes for 1,398 yards and 17 touchdowns in his final 13 games in college.

General manager Nick Caserio told reporters after Day 2 of the draft that the club was confident Dell would continue to have a grinding mindset.

“Each player is going to be motivated differently,” said Caserio. “You can’t change the circumstance. What you can do is try to make the most of what you have. I think Tank’s tried to do that here to this point, and his mindset probably won’t change here once he walks in our building.”

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Texans C Juice Scruggs working with C.J. Stroud to forge chemistry

Houston Texans rookie center Juice Scruggs is looking to develop chemistry with quarterback C.J. Stroud.

The Houston Texans are banking much of their fate in 2023 on the development of rookies.

Second-round center Juice Scruggs is aware of the onus laid upon the 2023 draft class, and spent rookie minicamp developing a relationship with first-round quarterback C.J. Stroud.

What helps with Scruggs and Stroud’s connection is their time in the Big Ten Conference. Penn State, Scruggs’ alma mater, faced Stroud and Ohio State on an annual basis.

“We had some crazy battles with Ohio State,” Scruggs told reporters May 13. “Just being able to meet him, how humble he is and how passionate he is about this game, excited to work with him and just get to go know him.”

While there has been lip service from coach DeMeco Ryans, general manager Nick Caserio, and even chairman and CEO Cal McNair that Stroud will have to earn his way into the starting job, the reality is the battle won’t be hard fought. Stroud will compete against 12-year Case Keenum and third-year Davis Mills. There was a reason Houston picked Stroud No. 2 overall.

For Scruggs, getting onto the field may be a bit more challenging. Houston already has veterans Jimmy Morrissey, Michael Deiter, and Scott Quessenberry vying for the center job. The Texans also drafted Notre Dame’s Jarrett Patterson in the sixth round.

The key to being the center is forming cohesion with Stroud.

Said Scruggs: “Just trying to build the relationship and get the chemistry going. What I thought about him in college, I thought he was the best quarterback in the country for sure.”

The last time the Texans had a rookie quarterback and rookie center start in a game was 2021, which was the epitome of a rebuilding season. Houston may not use such an inexperienced duo unless it shows the best potential to upgrade the offense.

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Texans sign C Juice Scruggs to rookie contract

The Houston Texans have signed second-round center Juice Scruggs to a standard rookie contract.

The Houston Texans have signed another member of their nine-player draft class to the 90-man offseason roster.

The Texans announced Monday they have signed second-round center Juice Scruggs. The standard rookie contract that Scruggs signed is good for four years.

Houston picked Scruggs No. 62 overall in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL draft. The former Penn State product has the ability to play center and also guard for the Texans.

Scruggs told reporters May 13 his biggest focus throughout rookie minicamp was to implement the techniques from offensive line coach Chris Strausser.

“Just coming out here, trying to learn the scheme, get in the playbook as much as possible, and really just taking Coach Strausser coaching and just trying to implement his technique and fundamentals and just trying to really understand the basics and go from there,” Scruggs said.

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Texans’ DeMeco Ryans does not remember his 2006 rookie minicamp

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans does not have any recollection of his rookie minicamp as the team’s second-round pick in 2006.

DeMeco Ryans is looking to build the Houston Texans from the ground up, and after a successful draft in April, early indications are that he is well underway with that task.

As the Texans conducted rookie minicamp May 12-13, there was a curiosity about Ryans’ minicamp with the Texans in 2006.

“17 years ago, [that’s] taking me back,” Ryans told reporters May 12. “You know what? I don’t remember rookie minicamp. I don’t remember much of rookie minicamp.”

Houston picked Ryans with the No. 33 overall pick in Round 2 from Alabama to bolster their linebacking corps. Though he couldn’t recollect the finer details of what he went through, the difference in physicality between the camps from then to now stood out to him more than anything else.

“I just remember overall just the spring practices, summer practices,” Ryans said. “I just remember for me, just how quick practices were, how physical they were, which we can’t get physical anymore.”

Two revisions to the collective bargaining agreement in 2011 and 2020 keep players out of pads and intentionally colliding with one another until training camp.

Even though Ryans was just in shorts and a helmet in 2006, the speed of the game was borderline overwhelming.

Said Ryans: “Like coming in, it was just a different speed, and I had to get acclimated quickly if I wanted to keep up. That was one thing I learned, to get rolling very quickly.”

Ryans is sure to emphasize speed in acclimation to his 2023 draft class, which is expected to play an outsized role for the Texans next season. Though players may not be allowed to make contact or wear pads like Ryans did during his playing days at this point in the offseason, the focus on learning and execution remains the same.

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What has the biggest adjustment been for Texans DE Will Anderson?

Houston Texans rookie defensive end Will Anderson talked about what his biggest adjustment has been since joining the team.

Will Anderson was at the top of college football after the 2022 season.

The Alabama defensive end collected two Bronko Nagurski Trophies, the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Lott Trophy, two SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors, and was a two-time first-team All-American. It is no surprise Anderson went No. 3 overall to the Houston Texans — and that they traded up from No. 12 to take him.

While Anderson left the college ranks on top, he is starting at the bottom in the NFL, even with his lofty draft status with Houston.

Anderson clarified what makes the pro game different from the college game when meeting with reporters on May 13 during minicamp at Houston Methodist Training Center.

“With the NFL everything it’s more detailed,” Anderson said. “Like it’s a lot more sacrifices to make to understand and grasp everything the coaches are telling you to do, the playbook, everything like that.”

In college, there was also the structure of classes and eligibility obligations wherein football was compartmentalized. In the NFL, football is all Anderson has to do, which means the 21-year-old has to build his own structure on how to use his time efficiently.

“The difference from college to now is you have so much more free time, so you have to find a routine and get that routine and know what you’re going to do at this time, this time,” said Anderson. “Everything is just detail, you know what I’m saying?”

When Anderson is working on the game, the one aspect that proves challenging is the terminology.

Said Anderson: “The biggest thing is learning the language, the verbiage, and understanding what they want and just understanding that. So that’s just kind of been the biggest adjustment right now.”

Starting jobs aren’t handed out at minicamp as the weekend is spent getting rookies acclimated and ready to join the veterans for the team’s offseason workouts.

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C Juice Scruggs realizes significance of Texans trading up in draft

Juice Scruggs is aware of the significance in the Houston Texans trading up to draft him, and the rookie center seeks to reward their faith.

HOUSTON — For the young men waiting to hear which NFL team will call their name during the draft, life can be a little difficult when you are dealing with the anxiety and apprehension that goes along with it.

Former Penn State offensive lineman Frederick “Juice” Scruggs’s anxiousness, heightened when he received a call from the Houston Texans that the team would select him in the second round.

The Texans sent three later picks to the Philadelphia Eagles and were able to get back into the second round after including the 33rd pick in a package deal to the Arizona Cardinals to select Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. third overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

“The draft process is nerve-wracking as it is,” Scruggs told the media at the conclusion of the Texans rookie minicamp. “Once I got the call and they said they were trading up, my heart was jumping, not going to lie. All I heard was my heartbeat when they said Houston Texans are coming to get you.

“My heart was just jumping. It was crazy. I really didn’t think about it, and then my brothers were like, ‘They just traded up to get you. That’s a really big deal.’ I was like, ‘Let’s do it, man, I’m excited.’”

Scruggs was projected to be a mid-to-late-round pick due to some concerns about him being fully recovered from a severe car accident he was involved in back in 2019, where he fractured his L3 vertebrae and suffered a concussion.

He was confined to a back brace for eight months and could not compete for an entire season. Scruggs battled back from the horrific injury to be named a team captain for the Nittany Lions and was selected to the 2022 All-Big Ten Third Team.

Although he has spent time playing the guard and center positions on the offensive line, Scruggs wants an opportunity to compete and be used wherever the team needs him.

Houston has tentative plans to play him at center but could also use him at either guard position if an injury was to occur to second-year player Kenyon Green or veteran Shaq Mason. Scruggs has appreciated the family-oriented type atmosphere provided by the Texans, with players such as Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard reaching out to him after he was drafted.

He also has been impressed by first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans who gives off similar vibes as his former head coach at Penn State, James Franklin.

“Yeah, you can definitely see it,” said Scruggs about the two coaches. “They’re definitely family oriented, always talk about putting the team first. I’m just excited to get to work with him (Ryans) because you can just tell he brings energy to any room he’s in. And when you got a head coach that brings the energy, it’s easy to bring the energy. I’m just excited to play for him.”

Overcoming adversity is something that Scruggs has learned to deal with in life, from being involved in a horrific car accident that could have cost him his life to recovering and fulfilling his dream to play in the NFL.

As he prepares for Texans training camp this summer, Scruggs knows that there will be plenty of challenges that he will face, such as learning the playbook and adjusting to the speed of the game on the professional level.

Yet, his most significant adjustment will be dealing with the heat and humidity in Houston, in which he got a small sample size during his rookie minicamp at Methodist Training Center.

“I would just say the weather here is definitely different for me,” Scruggs said with a smile. “Penn State, you know, we don’t get hot that much, and I heard this isn’t even hot. Yeah, so that’s definitely going to be the biggest challenge for me.”

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