Notebook: Ward Stays, Fearless Stingley, and Stroud's Connection With Dalton Schultz

The highlights from Monday's conversations with the Texans

Derek Stingley will be an All-Pro for the Houston Texans in 2024…if he plays the whole season. His skills have never been a question, just his health. In four consecutive seasons, injuries have affected segments of Stingley’s year.

The skills, not in question, are elite. Just ask his foe in practice every day Nico Collins.

“Ball skills, man,” Collins said with a smile. “Sting, he’s cold. He’s that corner, man he’s strong, physical. And he’s patient, good with his eyes, great ball skills.”

Rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter agrees about Stingley’s abilities.

“Second to none, honestly,” said the rookie. “I haven’t seen a defensive back have as good as ball skills as he has. It’s just like a superpower of his.”

Superheroes have superpowers. They also have no fear. Collins noted Stingley never panics like most cornerbacks when the ball is in the air.

“I feel like a lot of corners, when the ball is in the air, a lot of DBs and they panic,” he said. “They turn their heads, look and stuff like that. But I feel like with him, it’s just he’s calm. When the ball is in the air, he makes a play.”

If Stingley can add durability to his list of superpowers the best is yet to come from Stingley.

Jimmie Ward’s Extension

The Houston Chronicle reported Jimmie Ward was awarded a contract extension by the Texans on Monday. The veteran safety was set to be a free agent at the end of the 2024 season. Rookie Calen Bullock was the only safety on the roster with a contract beyond this season prior to Ward’s extension.

Ward missed seven games last season including the two playoff games for nine missed games total. He played in just ten.

The timing of the extension isn’t curious. The Texans do deals all year. You would think the team would want to see a healthy Ward before putting some money on the table for the 2025 season though.

DeMeco Ryans explained in the offseason the depth was hit hard at safety and they had lots of backups at the position in the playoffs. The top four safeties, who all got hurt last year, are back this year and the team added Bullock to the mix as well.

Ward is a Ryans favorite. A healthy Ward would be a great chess piece for the defense.

“First off it’s the communication piece,” Ryans said Monday about Ward’s abilities when healhty. “He’s a great communicator and Jimmie is versatile. Always loved his versatility. He can come down and play man coverage. He can play in the deep half of the field like making plays. Jimmie is a very versatile player and I think that opens up a variety of things we can do defensively when it comes to gameplan wise.”

A healthy Ward in 2024 is a weapon. A sidelined Ward would make this extension look untimely and unnecessary. I do anticipate there to be a chance the 2025 starting safety duo, Ward and Bullock, are playing together later this season.

It’s not a deal I would have done, but it isn’t one that hamstrings the team either. It fits in the window of this season and next, like the Danielle Hunter contract, before some larger investments will change the makeup of the team.

Dalton Schultz Just Knew

C.J. Stroud talked in an interview in the offseason about how Dalton Schultz, less than ten games into their time together, was already on the same page with him. Stroud explained that Schultz knew to take a deeper route than the play called for him to take, so it opened something up for the receivers. He also mentioned Schultz never heard exactly what he asked for in Cincinnati thanks to the rowdy fans cheering on the Bengals defense.

Schultz did exactly what Stroud wanted.

How?

“I think early he was a guy that I could tell pretty early from the conversations that he knows ball,” Schultz explained. “Like he understands football just from a big picture scale. Some of those things, I didn’t necessarily hear what he wanted but I knew he was trying to say something. We just found a way to be on the same page just by seeing the same picture on the back end.”

Simpatico Stroud.

“Things like that and some of them aren’t necessarily planned all the time, but like when you’re able to just get on the same page and make it right however it is, that’s special when you have a quarterback that can do that.”

The tight ends will be crucial as the attention is on the wide receiver trio of Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, and Tank Dell. The first-team offense propelled the tight ends to out-produce the wide receivers against the Giants. That won’t be the case much, but an opposing defense is going to get eaten alive by these tight ends more than a few times this year.

Cal McNair on Reddit

Some of the highlights from the owner of the Texans as he participated in his annual Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything).

It feels like the connection to the players of the past, of all levels of talent and production, is as good as it has been in the organization’s history.

The gear has been quite popular. I know a lot of people have been asking about particular things, and as he says and the answer I have heard a lot: it’s coming.

Same, Cal. Same.

This is a pretty funny response and it doesn’t alienate anyone.

The question was about when the team would use their alternate uniforms. The Texans are scheduled to wear the H-Town Blue uniforms against the Buffalo Bills. The Detroit Lions will be in town for Sunday Night Football. The Texans will wear the new Battle Red uniforms. If Christmas against the Ravens is the final game for alternate jerseys, the Battle Red jerseys would be a good bet.

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The Texans will practice Wednesday and have a joint practice with the Rams on Thursday.