
The Texans signed S Reed Blankenship to a three-year contract following his time with the Falcons. Blankenship said HC DeMeco Ryans recruited him to the team, and he quickly bought into what Ryans was selling.
“I got a call from DeMeco and hearing what he had to say, I could tell that he wanted me, and I could tell that he really liked me as a player,” Blankenship said, via Aaron Wilson. “Obviously, we haven’t met truly in person, but I feel like he knows what my character is and what my personality is. You could tell that he really wanted me and really liked me. After we hung up, I was with my wife and I’m like, ‘I really feel like Houston really wants me.’ That honestly felt like the first time in my whole NFL career that somebody really wanted me as a player and as a person. He was just being real, obviously just being your authentic self. He was just telling me about the building, about the place, what they’re building. I was already bought in, honestly, and I really loved everything he had to say. I don’t need a lot of peer pressure, but it was really cool to hear what he had to say. Obviously, I feel like I landed in a great spot. It’s a different sort of edge to my career. I feel like I’m going to have a lot of fun down in Houston.”
Blankenship is excited to join a defense he already thought was a really strong unit.
“Watching Houston fly around at times, I’m like, ‘Dang, this defense is legit,’” Blankenship said. “Fast forward, it’s crazy that a team like that wants me to come in and to perform at a high level. It speaks volumes. Coming into this defense, I feel like I can give everybody a sense of calmness. I want to be the communicator out there. I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes at all, but I want everybody just to play free. Play free, have fun and at the end of the day, just go and hit dudes. I’ve always been coached like an old school type coach. I’ve been born and raised to go run and hit dudes for a living. I know there’s a bunch of dogs in the secondary, linebackers, defensive line, everywhere. I’m super stoked for this. I’m just ready to build that relationship between all the levels.”
Blankenship feels the “sky’s the limit” for Houston’s secondary.
“They’re already a really talented group,” Blankenship said. “There shouldn’t be any fall-off. That’s my mindset. I feel like the sky’s the limit for this secondary, for sure. I know all these guys are bought in. Why wouldn’t you want to be? They all want to win. We have a winning mindset. I can already feel that in the building. I’m super excited to get to work with these guys and really start to build relationships with them.”
Titans WR Wan’Dale Robinson said that he believes he can build off of a breakout season after signing a lucrative contract with Tennessee in free-agency.
“I feel like this past year was the first year I’ve been able to play inside and outside, more so being allowed to do that and showcase different things within the route tree and what I can do in my game,” Robinson said, via PFT. “Now having that confidence, I have already done it once, and now you can go out there and get better.”
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