For the most part, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud performed better in Week 1 than he had late in the 2025 season. Concerns remain.
Texans legend Andre Johnson has one concern in particular — Stroud’s body language.
Via D.J. Bien-Aime of ESPN, Johnson recently criticized Stroud’s in-game demeanor.
“With him, and this is just me personally, what I dislike about C.J. is his body language,” Johnson said on the LGND Talk podcast. “His body language is bad. . . .
“I think, as a former player, your quarterback having that type of body language is bad. Because other guys look at you as the quarterback. So, when they see you feeling a certain way, it kind of trickles through the team.”
Stroud addressed the issue during his Wednesday press conference.
“I really don’t have a comment for it,” Stroud said, via a transcript provided by the Texans. “I respect Dre as a person, I appreciate his critiques. But I’m focused on this week, going 1-0 against the Bengals. I respect Dre, and if that conversation needs to be had, it’ll be had.”
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans avoided the issue.
“I don’t know what comments you’re talking about,” Ryans said. “I’ve been studying Cincinnati and going to sleep. Talk to Andre about it.”
Stroud’s current teammate, Will Anderson, is aware — and was willing to address it.
“C.J., to me, he’s a leader,” Anderson said. “He wears that ‘C’ proudly on his shirt for a reason. For us, as a player and as his teammate, we voted him as a captain. For us, we understand what it takes to be a captain and he represents and embodies everything it takes to be a captain on this team and that’s why we voted him as a captain.
“I think C.J.’s been doing a phenomenal job since his rookie year to now with great body language, getting the guys going, leading that group of guys over there and having enthusiasm and having fun on the sideline. If something doesn’t go right, I think he does a good job of bringing everybody back together and centering everybody. We can’t really focus on that. Cincinnati’s up right now. C.J.’s in a good place. The offense is rolling. That’s a positive for us. He’s going to continue to keep doing great things and we’re going to continue to keep this thing rolling.”
Quarterback body language can have a real impact. In moments of adversity, players follow the lead of their leaders. The quarterback is the most conspicuous of them all.
The biggest potential problem is that “not my day” vibe, which plenty of quarterbacks have given off over the years when, you know, it wasn’t their day. That’s not to say Stroud has exhibited that or other problematic gestures and/or facial expressions, but Johnson saw something to get him to say what he said.
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