There’s going to be more of defensive end Will Anderson in the Texans defense this season.
Anderson isn’t necessarily going to be playing a higher percentage of snaps, but he will be taking up a little bit more space. At a press conference from Texans training camp on Thursday, Anderson said that he found he wasn’t able to stand his ground as much as he wanted to late last season so he focused on getting bigger before returning for his second NFL campaign.
“Last year I was like 248 and by the time we got to like the Ravens game I felt like I was getting tossed around,” Anderson said. “I kinda bulked up a little this offseason. Tried to keep my speed, I did keep my speed. I’m like 263 now. I feel good, some people still doubt me a little bit. I appreciate you for that.”
Anderson was effective at the lower weight, so the best case scenario for the Texans is that the positive impact he has on games will get larger as well in 2024.
There are a lot fewer questions about Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud than there were at this time last year.
Stroud wasn’t officially the starter in Houston last July, but he wound up winning the job and ended the year as the offensive rookie of the year. That answered any of the doubts about his ability to succeed at the professional level and that leaves how good he’ll be as the biggest remaining question about the quarterback.
In a Thursday press conference, Stroud said he thinks there are “a ton of things” he can do better, starting with “owning the offense more” than he did during his rookie season. Stroud mentioned footwork as an area he can improve, but focused on his desire for the Texans to put more “on my plate” in terms of directing the unit.
“I want to definitely attack down the field more this year and press guys back, but also take what the defense gives me,” Stroud said. “If it’s a boring play, stick with the boring stuff and just be efficient with that. Those are all things I can get better at.”
Stroud noted that it is now “up to me to set that standard” for what kind of team the Texans are going to be and it sounds like he’s comfortable taking that on his shoulders in Year Two.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud took the league by storm in 2023, earning AP offensive rookie of the year honors after leading the Texans to an AFC South title.
As Houston begins its training camp this week, head coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters that like most players, Stroud can make significant strides in Year 2 because he’s had a full offseason instead of training in the pre-draft process.
“Where can we see him grow in his second year? It’s his leadership, first and foremost — continue to become the leader that we want him to be,” Ryans said in his Thursday press conference. “And it’s just in his play. It doesn’t change for C.J. or anyone else — can we get a little bit better each day? There’s no big grand thing for him, just continue to get a little bit better. You see how much better he got from his first day of camp last year until our last game — how much better [he got], you saw the growth of him. And that’s the same thing as we come into this season.”
Ryans added that because he has a year of NFL experience now, Stroud can be more vocal when it comes to leading the entire team and not just the offense. But Ryans noted he was pleased with how Stroud got his teammates together to throw and build a rapport away from the facility.
“I think C.J. has done a really good job this offseason as a leader when it comes to working with other guys — knowing that he’s not just working by himself, but finding the avenues to get a group together and work together,” Ryans said. “That’s very important, especially when it comes to timing in the passing game for receivers and quarterbacks. They have to be in sync. And it shows that they see how important that was because guys were working together this summer.”
But especially considering Stroud’s success in 2023, it’s not like the young quarterback has to fundamentally change anything entering his second season.
“C.J. just has to be himself,” Ryans said. “And that’s what’s made C.J. a special player, is just him being himself. He’s [got] a great family, raised the right way, does all things the right way. He just continues to be himself and guys will follow him because how he works, how he shows up with a great attitude — that’s why guys will follow him.”
The Bears are taking a look at a linebacker.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Chicago is working out free agent Shaquille Quarterman on Thursday.
Quarterman, 26, was a Jaguars fourth-round pick in 2020 and completed his rookie contract with the franchise. He’s appeared in 63 games, though he hasn’t made a start. He has 54 career tackles with one forced fumble.
Quarterman has mainly contributed on special teams throughout his four seasons. He played 67 percent of the unit’s snaps in 2022 and 51 percent of snaps in 2023.
As the cliché goes, nice guys finish last. 49ers receiver Brandon Aiyuk, in officially requesting a trade this week, has figured that out.
There’s another modified saying that has been particularly relevant to the 49ers in recent years.
The squeaky wheel gets the green.
That’s how receiver Deebo Samuel cashed in two years ago. From the outset of the offseason, he agitated. He wanted to be traded. He created the impression he was done with the 49ers.
And it worked.
Last year, defensive end Nick Bosa stayed away until he got paid. And it worked.
Others have gotten paid. Running back Christian McCaffrey, whose squeaking was extremely discreet and generally minimal but nevertheless effective, got paid. Tackle Trent Williams has gotten paid. Most key players from the team that has made it to four conference championships and two Super Bowls have been rewarded.
Those they didn’t want to pay got a fresh start, whether it was defensive tackle DeForest Buckner via trade or defensive lineman Arik Armstead, who was given an ultimatum to take a pay cut or take a hike and choose a fresh start.
Aiyuk falls in a rare category for the Kyle Shanahan/John Lynch 49ers. The 2023 second-team All-Pro clearly deserves more than the $14.1 million he’s due to earn in the fifth year of his rookie deal. They won’t give him what he wants, however. And they won’t trade him to a team that will.
Earlier this year, it seemed as if they were hoping to keep the band together for one more season before figuring out how to reconfigure the roster after the next run at an elusive sixth Super Bowl win.
If that happens, it’ll come against the wishes of Aiyuk, who’s trying to parlay a great performance last year into the contract he believes he deserves.
He was second in the league last year with 12.8 yards per target, racking up 1,342 receiving yards with only 105 passes thrown his way. (Bills receiver Khalil Shakir led the NFL with 13.6, but he had only 611 total receiving yards.)
From Aiyuk’s perspective, what would he do if he got, for example, the 181 targets that went to Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb? What would Aiyuk do with even 150?
The 49ers could find out, perhaps by trading Samuel. Or by trading Aiyuk.
Regardless, Aiyuk decided this week to start squeaking. We’ll see if it works.
The Texans begin training camp on Thursday as a team with increased expectations.
With C.J. Stroud’s emergence and DeMeco Ryans’ leadership in 2023, Houston won the AFC South and a playoff game after winning just 11 games from 2020-2022. The club then went out and made some significant moves — like signing Danielle Hunter and trading for receiver Stefon Diggs — to solidify the roster for 2024.
But as an organization, the Texans aren’t focused on what others might see as their floor or ceiling in the coming season.
“Yeah, I think anything that’s really discussed outside of the building doesn’t really have any relevance to us,” Caserio said. “We’re not going to spend any time on things that, quite frankly, don’t matter. Our expectations for the players is to come in with a good attitude, put a good foundation in place, be a great teammate, be resilient — because we’re going to face some things as a team, we’re going to face some things individually — and put the best version of yourself on the field each day.
“So, the results will take care of themselves. What’s said outside of the building, I mean, it has no impact on anything that we do. Talking never won games. Expectations never won games. Good football and good execution wins football games, so, ultimately, that’s what it’s going to come down to. The rest of it — honestly, it’s a big waste of time for us to spend time on things that don’t matter or that we don’t control.”
Caserio may not be focused on the increased expectations, but there will be a much bigger spotlight on Houston this season. After playing all but one regular-season game last year at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, the Texans have six standalone games scheduled for 2024 — beginning with a Sunday Night Football matchup with the Bears in Week 2.
Longtime NFL wide receiver Randall Cobb did not formally announce his retirement this offseason, but it looks like he is moving on to the next phase of his life.
ESPN announced on Thursday that Cobb will work as a studio analyst for SEC Network during this fall’s college football season. Cobb was a two-time All-SEC player at Kentucky before entering the NFL as a Packers second-round pick in 2011.
“I am incredibly excited to be coming home to the SEC with this new role,” Cobb said in a statement. “The level of greatness this conference provides year after year is unmatched – I cannot wait return to the conference family with this SEC Network crew.”
Cobb spent eight years with the Packers and then returned for two more after stints in Dallas and Houston. He played for the Jets last year. His 532 catches rank fifth in Packers history and he had 630 catches for 7,624 yards and 54 touchdowns for his career.
Former NFL running back Corey Dillon said last year that it was “damn-near criminal” that he was not in the Bengals Ring of Honor, so he was likely happy to hear the team’s announcement about 2024 inductees on Thursday.
The team announced that Dillon and defensive tackle Tim Krumrie will be inducted into the Ring of Honor this year. The induction ceremony will be held at halftime of the team’s Monday night game against the Commanders on September 23.
Dillon was a 1997 second-round pick and spent seven seasons with the Bengals. He is the franchise leader with 1,865 rushing attempts and 8,061 rushing yards, and he also has the top three single-game rushing performances in Bengals history. He moved on to the Patriots and won a Super Bowl in the first of his three seasons in New England.
Krumrie was a 10th-round pick in 1983 and he played with the Bengals through the 1994 season. He was a first-team All-Pro in 1988 and the Bengals advanced to the Super Bowl that season, but Krumrie broke his tibia and fibula during their loss to the 49ers. He returned the next season and coached for the Bengals from 1995 to 2002 after retiring as a player.
Among the leading topics of the current edition of Hard Knocks has been the Giants’ handling of running back Saquon Barkley’s foray into free agency.
Barkley’s run with the team ended when the Giants opted not to make an overwhelming bid to hold onto the second overall pick of the 2018 draft and watched him sign with the Eagles instead. The show has featured conversations involving co-owner John Mara, General Manager Joe Schoen and others about the implications of both signing Barkley and letting him go to another team, but there’s been a bit less about the pursuit of the player who will be the lead back this season.
That’s Devin Singletary, who was drafted by the Bills when Schoen worked in Buffalo and who signed with the Giants after finishing last season as the top back in Houston. During an appearance on The Hard Knocks Podcast with Peter Schrager, Schoen explained why he thinks the team remains in good hands with Singletary.
“He was a guy we had on our radar the last four years,” Schoen said. “He’s been the leading rusher on whatever team he’s been on. The last 4 years, those teams have won a playoff game. So he’s good enough to win with. He’s healthy, he’s durable and he’s good enough to win playoff games.”
The Giants won one of the two playoff games they played with Barkley and they’re betting that the combination of moves they made this offseason will lead to more fruitful results in the future.
The Jaguars have put together something for their 30th season in 2024.
Jacksonville announced on Thursday that they’ll be wearing their 90s-style “Prowler” throwback jerseys for their Week 5 matchup with the Colts.
Former head coach Tom Coughlin will be inducted into the Pride of the Jaguars during that game as well.
“Everywhere I go and from every comment I read, it’s apparent our fans are longing to see Jaguars’ players in throwback uniforms,” Jaguars president Mark Lamping said in a statement. “That persistence paid off and our uniforms reminiscent of the team’s early years are back by popular demand — just in time for the 30th season and, in particular, the Pride of the Jaguars induction of our inaugural head coach, Tom Coughlin.”
The Jaguars wore their original uniforms from their inaugural season in 1995 until 2009. This version of the throwbacks will also include the team wearing the original helmet logo that was featured from 1995-2013.
Jacksonville made the announcement with a social media video featuring former Jaguars right tackle Leon Searcy along with current safety Andre Cisco and cornerback Tyson Campbell.