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| Houston Texans All-Pro Will Anderson Jr. |
If the first day of Houston Texans OTAs is any indication of how training camp will be, or the regular season, then Texans fans are in for one hell of a ride in 2026.
Listen, I know what you are about to say.
“Sarge, slow down, it is only t-shirts, shorts, and no tackling.”
But what I witnessed on Thursday at the Houston Methodist Training Center was a team of individuals competing. Even though some key starters were missing from both sides of the ball, the battle was still fierce and intense.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud watched as the defense celebrated the interception of his first pass attempt in the 11-on-11 team drill, yet that did not deter him. He responded with some rookie-year Stroud passes that put the defense on its heels.
As he walked back towards the offensive side, he made sure that linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. could hear him loud and clear.
One thing that the Texans defense prides itself on is not getting beat on any play, and Anderson took Stroud’s words as a challenge and turned the heat up so much in the second iteration of team drills that head coach DeMeco Ryans jokingly thought about making Anderson sit out the next practice so they could complete offensive plays.
“Will continues to wreck practice, I’m probably going to have to sit him out here soon because we have to be able to actually practice,” said Ryans. “He just keeps wrecking practice. I was showing guys that’s what he does on Sundays as well.”
Ryans, who is entering his fourth season as the leader of the Texans, was very impressed by the way his team was competing and making each other better along the way.
“Being Day Two (OTAs), and from where I stand, it’s very impressive to see that’s the back-and-forth nature of our team,” Ryans said. “You see guys barking at each other and see the competitiveness of our team. I told our team in our team meetings, ‘I know everybody in our room is competitive. You wouldn’t be here if you’re not a competitor.’ We have a great competitive spirit, great competitive fire on all sides of the ball, all three phases.”
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| Texans Defensive Back Jalen Pitre |
Defensive back Jalen Pitre, who had the aforementioned interception on Stroud, reiterated his head coach’s view on the competitive atmosphere.
“Nobody is trying to lose a rep,” Pitre responded when asked about the mindset of the team. “I know for sure none of the defensive backs are trying to lose a rep. I know for sure none of the linebackers, nobody out there is trying to lose a rep. I know it’s the same thing for the offense.”
After another heartbreaking defeat in the AFC Divisional round of the NFL playoffs last season, the Texans are more focused than ever on reaching their first AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl in team history, and they understand the only way that can happen is for everyone to be on the same page from the start.
“I feel like that competitive nature just comes from within, and then it just spreads out on the team as a whole,” said Kamari Lassiter. “That competitive nature just makes us better, and whenever you go against the best, you want to play the best.”