Texans open camp as preparations begin for 2026 season

By Elwyn Henderson

The Houston Texans began their preparations for the 2026 NFL season Wednesday at the Methodist Training Center just off Kirby Drive across the street from Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Before the first practice General Manager Nick Caserio met with the media in attendance to discuss where the team was headed into camp.

“Good morning. Welcome to Training Camp. I appreciate everybody being here. Hopefully everybody had a good summer. I’m excited to get started with this team, with this season. It’s the 25th season for the organization. That’s a key marker there. I’d say personally, it’s my 26th season in the NFL. Honestly, it’s really a blessing to be in this situation, be in the position that I’m in and to have the opportunity that I have in front of me. I certainly don’t take it for granted. Every year is important. 26 seasons means I’m just getting older. We’re looking forward to getting started here. I’d say really Training camp starts on Monday. For a few days it’s to get everybody back moving around. Training camp really starts on Monday once you put the pads on.”

When the practice that lasted just over an hour concluded Head Coach DeMeco Ryans met with the media and he was asked his impressions of the first day and what he expected going forward.

“From our first day of practice today, I thought it was a lot of good back and forth. Offense made some plays; defense made some plays, special teams guys did a really good job of executing as well. From what I look for on the first day, when you talk about communication, guys working together, being on the same page, we achieved that today. Now, as I mentioned to our guys, its how do you build on the next day, and that’s what you look for in camp. It’s a steady build. How do you continue to improve each day?”

The Mirror asked Ryans what he thought about the offseason acquisitions in free agency and the draft back in April.

“We’re excited about the guys that we’ve added to our team. Each year you have to build a team each and every year. So, we’ll see how this team gels, how this team comes together. It’s always, in my mind, it’s always a goal of coming together to do something special, and how quickly can we bond, how quickly can we grow throughout camp and we’ll see how far we can take it.”

Star Defensive End Will Anderson, Jr. was asked if the team came into camp with Super Bowl expectations and he said, “Most definitely.  Coach talked about putting a ring on the bull. That’s something that we’re striving for, something that’s never been done in the city. It brings something special back to the city and I think everybody’s aware of that. I was just talking about telling the guys yesterday, the seriousness of what we’re trying to accomplish here, a part of it. You’re here for a reason. I think the expectation is that nobody outside of this building is going to have a higher expectation than what we have in this building. I think we did a really great job of laying the foundation of who we want to be as a team and what we want to accomplish as a team. ‘S.W.A.R.M.’ [Special Work Ethic and Relentless Mindset] is our foundation. I say all the time; it’s like when everything goes wrong or we’re not doing this, that, we have a foundation to lean back on. I think that’s why we’ve been able to be so successful in my four years of being here because DeMeco has done a really good job of laying the foundation down.”

To close out the interview session Quarterback CJ Stroud stepped in to address the media. He was asked how he balances the pressure of his performance amid contract negotiations that have been being discussed.

“I think pressure is part of my job. That’s just something I think is part of the gig and something that I’m not naive to but I’ve learned you have to keep the main thing the main thing. You have to just focus on one day at a time, one play and the football is what’s gotten me to even have the conversation, to be able to get a second contract. I have to focus on football.”

The team will continue camp practices in shells only until this coming Monday, August 3rd when they will put on pads for the first time. This team will definitely be a team to watch this year. The biggest question is if Stroud can bounce back from his disastrous performance in the Divisional Round last season in a snow storm in Foxboro, MA against the New England Patriots. The defense should be even better than last year and IF Stroud can take things to the next level in the playoffs this year, Houston has a legitimate chance to be the AFC Representative in the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in February.