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The Houston Texans have had nothing short of a busy offseason.
Offensively, the Texans have gone under a vast overhaul around C.J. Stroud, whether you look at his new offensive coordinator in Nick Caley, a fresh batch of veteran and young receivers alongside Nico Collins, and perhaps the biggest storyline of this offseason, a wide range of changes upfront on the offensive line. A few interesting moves were also made on the defensive side with the addition of names like C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Sheldon Rankins.
Compared to a few months ago, this group has seen many steps in the right direction. Yet, through the motions of this wild Texans' offseason, will it be enough to take that next step as a top-end contender in the AFC?
In the eyes of ESPN analyst Ben Solak, it could definitely be in play.
Solak broke down a bit of what he sees from the Texans heading into the 2025 season, buying Houston over other strong AFC talents like the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers.
"The Texans have made consecutive AFC divisional rounds, but we don't talk about them like we talk about the Ravens or Bills," Solak wrote. "I think that's wrong. The Texans' defense can get burned in its aggressive style (see: all games against Lamar Jackson), but over the past two seasons, it has shown up in key postseason moments and against top opponents more often than not. The Texans' offense disappointed last season, but the potential for an immediate bounce-back is there under a new coaching staff. ESPN BET has the Texans with the sixth-best odds to win the AFC. They're behind the Bengals and Chargers, which just doesn't reflect the reality of those three teams over the past few seasons. I'm buying Houston."
The Texans, while not in the same conversations with teams like the Buffalo Bills or Baltimore Ravens, have the pieces in play to elevate there as soon as next season. With young stars lining up at quarterback, wide receiver, edge rusher, and corner, the foundation is there to progress into one of the more consistent and dominant talents in the AFC.
Though a solid base to build on, this Houston team's ceiling for the coming season likely relies on how well and quickly the surrounding pieces of this roster can gel, whether it be in the offensive trenches, Stroud's new weapons, or the various veterans added on the defensive end.
If the Texans' playcalling can straighten out and the offensive line falls back into place, Stroud has the tools ready to return to similar levels we saw during his rookie campaign–– potentially making this offense one of the most potent and dangerous for the 2025 season ahead.
More must-reads:
- Tua Tagovailoa addresses relationship with Tyreek Hill after controversial comments
- Steelers' T.J. Watt addresses viral social post during contract negotiations
- The 'Single-season sack leaders by NFL team' quiz
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Tua Tagovailoa addresses relationship with Tyreek Hill after controversial comments
Shortly after Miami Dolphins players reported for training camp on Tuesday, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill suggested he wants to be "better as a leader" after he controversially subbed himself out of Miami's regular-season finale this past January and then told reporters he was "out." While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa addressed the Hill-sized elephant in the room. "I think there’s a lot more vulnerability with Tyreek," Tagovailoa explained, as shared by Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "He’s conversating a lot more with the guys, not just about football, but about things off the field, being vulnerable about some of the things people know about his personal life and things of that nature. I think that’s the first step toward him building true relationships and a real connection with a lot of the guys in there." Following Hill's "out" comment, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier revealed that the 31-year-old speedster never requested a trade. While publicly apologizing to his teammates during a Super Bowl week interview, Hill directly said that Tagovailoa is his "guy." Hill also insisted at the time that he loves Tagovailoa. "Everybody makes mistakes," Tagovailoa added about Hill. "It’s just, some people, they’re in the spotlight, and their deals get pushed out more than some others. So you’ve just got to cut him some grace. That’s our teammate. We love him, but as a person, I think if you get to know him, you’ll love him too." Hill and Tagovailoa likely will need to be on the same page if they want to prevent the Dolphins from going through a franchise reset next offseason. At least head coach Mike McDaniel is reportedly on the hot seat this summer, while Tagovailoa's status beyond the upcoming campaign is up in the air after he suffered a third reported concussion since the fall of 2022 last season. "You guys aren’t the only people that heard that," Tagovailoa said about Hill's "out" statement. "...So when you say something like that, you don’t just come back from that with, 'Hey, my bad.' You’ve got to work that relationship up. You’ve got to build everything up again. It’s still a work in progress, not just for me but for everybody. But like I said, he’s working on himself, he’s working on the things he says he wants to get better with and do better on. So that’s the first step to me, so I commend him for doing that." As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the 2024 Dolphins at -275 betting odds to miss the playoffs. Those who believe the relationship between Tagovailoa and Hill is on shaky ground following Wednesday's developments may want to take a flier on such a wager before the odds change later this year.
Nationals OF makes Catch of the Year candidate to rob home run
Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young delivered a Catch of the Year candidate with a spectacular grab he made on Wednesday. Young’s Nationals lost 5-0 to the Cincinnati Reds at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, and the score could have been worse if not for Young. Will Benson was batting for Cincinnati with a runner on third base and two outs in the top of the eighth inning with his team leading 3-0. He belted a first pitch 96 mph fastball to deep center, but Young climbed the wall in center field to rob Benson of a 2-run home run. Here is a slow-motion version of the catch that shows Young climbing the wall to make the catch. What a catch by Young. Although Benson gave that pitch quite a ride, the metrics suggest it would have been a home run in only five MLB ballparks, so a flyout was an anticipated outcome. You just wouldn’t expect that ball to become an out in the manner that it did. Holy cow.
Penn State QB Drew Allar gets candid about team's struggles against top opponents
It is no secret that Penn State has struggled to win big games under head coach James Franklin. While the Nittany Lions have finished with double-digit wins in six of the past nine seasons, including a 13-3 season in 2024 that culminated with a loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals, they have struggled to beat quality opponents. Quarterback Drew Allar, who enters the 2025 season with the fifth-shortest odds (+1600) to win the Heisman Trophy, per FanDuel, was honest about Penn State's lack of success during his appearance at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday. "We definitely need to get over the hump," Allar said, per ESPN's Jake Trotter. "There's no question about it." Penn State is only 4-20 against top-10 opponents under Franklin, although the three losses last season were all by one score. Allar is 23-6 as a starter, but threw a costly interception against Notre Dame that ultimately led to the game-winning field goal from the Fighting Irish. With experience on its side and lofty expectations entering the season as the No. 1-ranked team in ESPN's offseason poll, Allar pointed to better execution as a key to Penn State's success. "We definitely need to find different ways to come out with different results in those games," Allar said. "We haven't really been blown out of the water by any team. ... it's just about execution. ... finding those areas to make one or two more plays throughout those games. ... That's going to be our focus." One key for Penn State is the return of its two leading rushers from last season, Kaytron Allen (1,108 yards) and Nicholas Singleton (1,099 yards), who combined for 20 TDs. That experience, along with Allar's improved accuracy (66.5%) and career-high 3,327 passing yards from 2024, gives the Nittany Lions a lot of upside going into 2025. Allar did have an uptick in interceptions (eight) and was sacked 19 times last season, which are two concerning areas, especially against top-ranked opponents. That must improve for Penn State to reverse course and finally win meaningful games. For now, the focus is on its lack of success in those games under Franklin. If Penn State can execute and not beat itself, perhaps one of those games will eventually go its way. Until then, it will face the same questions as it looks to put its past struggles in big games behind it.
Rockies rookie shows up, shuts out Cardinals to snap team's ugly streak
Tanner Gordon tossed six strong innings in his first start since May 28, Ezequiel Tovar homered, and the Colorado Rockies shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 6-0 on Wednesday in Denver. Gordon (2-2) was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque after fellow right-hander German Marquez (bicep tendinitis) was placed on the 15-day injured list. It is the first time in 12 career starts that Gordon, a rookie who made his major league debut in July 2024, has not allowed a run. Jordan Beck, Hunter Goodman, Kyle Farmer and Austin Nola had two hits each for Colorado, which has won two straight home series after dropping the first 15 to begin the year. It was the Rockies' first home shutout in 220 games, the longest in the modern era. Their last home shutout was a 2-0 win over the Athletics on July 30, 2023. Willson Contreras and Jordan Walker doubled for the Cardinals, who totaled five hits and have started the second half of the season 1-5. Colorado used a barrage of one-out base hits to take control in the second inning against starter Andre Pallante. Ryan McMahon walked, Tovar flew out and Nola singled to put runners on the corners. The Rockies then used a string of singles to take the lead. Farmer knocked in McMahon with a single up the middle, Adael Amador drove in Nola with a hit to left, Tyler Freeman then brought home Farmer with a single to right and Amador scored on Mickey Moniak's single to right. Gordon made the lead stand. He worked around a walk in the third inning, gave up a two-out double to Walker in the fourth and induced three straight groundouts in the fifth. Gordon ended his afternoon with two more groundouts in the sixth after Contreras' one-out double. He finished with four hits and three walks allowed with three strikeouts in his six innings. The Rockies added another run in the fifth off of Pallante when Freeman led off with a walk, went to second on Goodman's one-out single and scored on Beck's double that deflected off the glove of shortstop Masyn Winn to make it 5-0. Pallante (5-7) allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts in five innings. Tovar led off the eighth inning with his fifth home run of the season.
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