Latest news with #C.J
NBC Sports
21 hours ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Report: C.J. Gardner-Johnson will participate in Texans' mandatory minicamp
Texans defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson reported to the team facility Monday ahead of Tuesday's start of a two-day mandatory minicamp, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports. Gardner-Johnson, who the Eagles traded to the Texans this offseason, skipped the team's voluntary offseason workouts to train on his own with his personal trainer. 'I've really been like to myself,' Gardner-Johnson told Wilson. 'The week I was there, it was very, very closer than places I've been before. Because this is a brand-new organization, trying to be the first team to put a bull on the ring. I had to step back. I'm too much sometimes. I think coming off a Super Bowl, it's a little too much for guys who feel like they're at the top of their profession right now because of who they are. That's respectable. So, we had to step back and then start to humble up, because now I'm at the bottom of the mountain with a team that's never been to the top. So, I can't bring the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain. I can't do that. It's like an avalanche. I don't want to cause a cluster---.' Gardner-Johnson, 27, led the league in interceptions in 2022 with six and has 18 in his six-year career. He spent three seasons in New Orleans and was with the Eagles in 2022 and 2024 after a one-year stint in Detroit in 2023 that didn't go well. The trade from the Eagles took him by surprise. 'I feel highly disrespected, but it's a business,' Gardner-Johnson said. ''Never was an All-Pro or Pro Bowl! Never!' [I] led the league in interceptions. What more do you want? 'People say, 'He's a hazard. He's this. He's that.' I never been no hazard, bro. They got no real issues on me. That black ball ain't going to work on me, because I got me a ring. I got me one. I got three more championships in me. I'm probably going to win the next three. I'm going to get me another Super Bowl this year. Just watch.' The Texans have never made the AFC Championship Game, but they won the AFC South and a playoff game each of the past two seasons.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Texans' C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 'I feel highly disrespected' by Eagles' trade
Texans' C.J. Gardner-Johnson: 'I feel highly disrespected' by Eagles' trade Show Caption Hide Caption NFL keeps 'Tush Push' in play The NFL won't ban the 'Tush Push', keeping the Eagles' high-success play in the game—for now. C.J. Gardner-Johnson was a key playmaker for the Philadelphia Eagles while helping the team win its second-ever Super Bowl. Despite his strong performance, the Eagles traded him to the Houston Texans during the offseason, marking the fourth consecutive offseason Gardner-Johnson has changed teams. The 27-year-old admitted he didn't take kindly to the deal and believes he has been slighted throughout his career to date. "I feel highly disrespected, but it's a business," Gardner-Johnson told KPRC 2's Aaron Wilson. "Never was an All-Pro or Pro Bowl! Never! Led the league in interceptions. What more do you want?" Gardner-Johnson believes his lack of recognition stems from his playing style and fiery on-field antics. Those were on display often during the 2024 NFL season, as he was fined six times for a total of $101,298, per That included $45,002 in fines from the Eagles' Week 16 loss to the Washington Commanders, a game from which he was ejected after multiple unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. STEELERS FAN ON AARON RODGERS: 'I wish he'd have retired already' Still, Gardner-Johnson defended himself and made it clear he doesn't think his reputation is earned. "People say, 'He's a hazard, he's this, he's that.' I never been no hazard, bro," Gardner-Johnson said. "They got no real issues on me. That black ball ain't going to work on me, because I got me a ring. I got me one." While that Super Bowl 59 ring is Gardner-Johnson's greatest NFL accolade to date, it didn't satiate him. Instead, it's fueling him as he joins the Texans, and he believes he can help take DeMeco Ryans' defense to the next level. "I got three more championships in me," Gardner-Johnson said. "I'm probably going to win the next three. I'm going to get me another Super Bowl this year. Just watch."
NBC Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
C.J. Gardner-Johnson: Texans have to learn to win when it matters
Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson has made deep runs in the playoffs for two different teams the last three seasons and he broke through for his first Super Bowl title with the Eagles in February. Any thoughts of a repeat with Philly ended when Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Texans in March, but thoughts of a personal repeat have not gone away. Gardner-Johnson said 'it would be kind of amazing' to win a championship in Houston and said that he thinks part of the reason he's with the team is to teach them how to win in the most important moments of the year. 'I mean, you guys played a lot of good ball here, but I don't think they understand what it means to win when it matters,' Gardner-Johnson said, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC. 'I'm not talking discredit to the team. I'm just saying I've been in a lot situations where, from Detroit to New Orleans to Philly, I've got to win when it matters and I've been in games where I had to step up. For me, championships means more to me than just winning a football game right now because I'm getting older. I'm playing with a lot of younger guys who understand like, yeah, the money's here, but it's more on when you can win and get a championship, you know?' There's plenty of competition in the AFC, but the Texans are coming off two straight division titles and they've won playoff games each season. If Gardner-Johnson is able to propel them even further, he could have a chance to take down the Eagles in Santa Clara and that would likely make the success even sweeter.
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
Texans QB C.J. Stroud (shoulder) limited at OTAs
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud did not throw at Houston's organized team activities Tuesday as he deals with minor shoulder tightness, according to multiple reports. Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley recently said that he is not bothered by Stroud's lack of passing reps. "Yeah, he's locked in every step of the way. No concerns whatsoever," Caley told reporters Friday. "Everybody has a specific routine relative to their own routine, specific to whatever. Whether it's football, whether it's athletic training, et cetera, and he's doing a great job and he's out here and he's working." Stroud, 23, is entering his third season. He crafted an impressive debut season with a passer rating of 100.8 and 4,108 yards, both the third-best in NFL history for a rookie. He was the first Texans player to win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Last season, Stroud came back down to earth a bit. His yards per game dropped from 273.9 in 2023 to 219.2 in 2024, and his interception total jumped from five to 12. In two seasons with the Texans, Stroud is 19-13 with 43 touchdowns, 7,835 yards and a 93.7 passer rating. The No. 2 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft also has two wild-card playoff wins under his belt. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2025 - All Rights Reserved
USA Today
03-06-2025
- General
- USA Today
Texans QB C.J. Stroud has shoulder soreness, not throwing at OTAs
Hear this story Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has not been doing the thing he's best known for – throwing the football – lately. According to multiple reports Tuesday, Stroud is still not throwing at the penultimate day of the Texans' offseason organized team activities (OTAs) while he deals with a sore shoulder. Said Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans: "There's no concerns with C.J. It's just general soreness. We're taking extra precaution with him, but he'll be good to go. No concerns on my end there." Shoulder issues are not new for Stroud. In 2021, during his redshirt freshman year at Ohio State, the former Buckeye missed his team's Week 4 meeting with Akron while dealing with a shoulder injury. HOUSTON TEXANS NEWS: Veteran CB Ronald Darby retiring at age 31 "[T]here was still kind of this feeling that he had that he really couldn't shake, and so maybe rest is something that would go a long way for him," Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said at the time. Stroud returned to action one week later and didn't miss another game for the remainder of his collegiate career. However, the 2023 No. 2 overall pick had another issue with his shoulder a couple of years later, early in his rookie season. In the lead-up to a Week 2 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts in 2023, Stroud was listed on the injury report as questionable to play with a right shoulder injury. He went on to make the start, completing 30 of 47 pass attempts for 384 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-31 loss. Stroud has only ever missed two games so far in his two-year pro career, both because of a concussion he suffered his rookie year in a Week 14 clash with the New York Jets. He played (and started) in every game during his sophomore campaign last year. Whether his current shoulder soreness will become a bigger problem still remains to be seen. Both of his previous run-ins with shoulder issues came at early points in those seasons, so perhaps the latest case is once again a matter of getting some of the rust off.
