Last Saturday, the Houston Texans, led by their rookie quarterback, C.J. Stroud suffered a rough loss against the Baltimore Ravens in their divisional round game. Following the loss, the Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. was crying over the loss until his teammate Stroud shared some encouraging words with him.
During a locker room interview, the Texans’ rookie pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. told the reporters the story of how Stroud showed some real leadership after their loss against the Ravens.
We're good. We're going to be good next year. Will Anderson said Stroud told him
Anderson said he wiped his tears after hearing Stroud’s words and told the reporters:
Cap said we're going to be good. We're good. Will Anderson said
Furthermore, the rookie pass rusher assured that the Texans are certainly heading in the right direction.
An example of C.J. Stroud’s personality & leadership. I asked Will Anderson what his immediate conversations were with CJ Stroud after the loss. “I was crying. He wasn’t crying. He’s just telling me, ‘we got this’ ” (much more in video below) #Texans @SportsTalk790 pic.twitter.com/OG5D0alhMv
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) January 22, 2024
I looked at it from his perspective after we talked. Just thinking about how much better we’re going to be next year. We’re heading in the right direction. Will Anderson added
The Texans had a great draft in 2023. They drafted quarterback C.J. Stroud with their No.2 overall pick and drafted Will Anderson Jr. with their No.3 overall pick. Both have proven to be elite talents and have turned around the franchise to the winning days.
Stroud is almost guaranteed to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year since he put up monstrous numbers in 2023. On the other hand, Will Anderson registered 7 sacks in his rookie NFL season and has been a massive asset to the Texans’ defense. Besides, they also led the Texans to their first playoff victory since 2020. So, the future is certainly looking good for the Houston-based football team.
After Will Anderson Jr. opened up to the reporters about the encouraging words, the Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was asked about it by the media.
The rookie signal-caller said that he didn’t like seeing Anderson upset over a loss and wanted to remind him of the bright times ahead in Houston.
Will Anderson Jr. said he was crying after the game. He said C.J. Stroud wasn't. Stroud looked at Anderson and told him, "we're good. We're going to be good next year."
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) January 22, 2024
Anderson said, he wiped his own tears away after that. "Cap said we're going to be good. We're good."
I just wanted to let him know I appreciated everything that he did for us that year. I just want to see his head up high. I just want to see him encouraged and positive. C.J. Stroud told reporters
Nonetheless, the Texans will have a tougher campaign next year since they will be coming in with a lot of expectations. Their front office would look to add some more pieces to have a better shot at winning the Super Bowl next season.
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