Will Anderson Jr. spoke with great clarity and confidence, a man who knows what he wants who’s earning a blockbuster, generational-wealth contract on the horizon in the next year.
While that will obviously be an expensive undertaking, it’s an investment the Texans are expected to embrace. And Anderson, a former third overall pick from Alabama where he was a consensus All-American, is more than open to negotiating with the defending AFC South champions.
“Most definitely, I want to be here the rest of my career honestly,” Anderson told KPRC 2. “As long as I can be here, that’s what I want, to be here.”
The Texans are building a strong track record of taking care of their homegrown talent.
“Those guys, they deserve it,” Anderson said. “They work really hard. They put a lot of hard work into their craft. And you see it on Sundays, and I’m excited to be part of that team building.”
Regardless of where the Texans wind up with Anderson in contract talks, he’s extremely enthused and focused about the outlook for a two-time defending AFC South champion coached by DeMeco Ryans.
"Man, the biggest thing is not deviating from the swarm mentality," Anderson said. “Everybody on board, everybody’s swarming, everybody playing the defense, everybody going out there flying to the ball, all 11 hats to the ball. That’s the type of defense we want to be, man. I’m excited.
“I’ve been seeing the guys work every day, man, been out there grinding in this heat, and it’s just good things to come for us. Man, I’ve not gonna lie, ever since that last game, I haven’t been able to stay composed. I love this group so much, man. I just see the potential of this team and how great we can be. And the guys we have in the locker room and the coaches we have.”
The Texans, 0-6 in the AFC divisional round, lost in the playoffs last season to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Now, they’re determined to make a long playoff run. They’re chasing a Super Bowl.
“Man, it’s fun,” Anderson said. “I’m really excited about this year, man. Both sides of the ball, just seeing everybody work, no complaining. Like, everybody’s just happy to be there. Everybody’s building bonds. The rookies just got there, man and they’re fitting right in. And I’m excited about the season. I know it’s going to be a good one for us.
“It’s very important. I think we try to do a really good job of setting what type of culture we want. So as soon as (rookies) got here, they know what we’re about, how we move, how we operate, how to work, and I think they’re fitting in just fine.”
Stingley receives a $25 million signing bonus and an average annual compensation milestone of $30 million in a blockbuster deal that has $89 million total guaranteed.
“Through Stingley’s extension, I think everybody can see the message there,” Ryans said during the NFL owners meetings at The Breakers one year after Pro Bowl wide receiver Collins received a three-year, $75 million extension. “We want to send a message to all of our young guys: When you do it the right way, guys like Stingley, Nico, young guys who came in and played really well for us, became top players in the league at their positions, you want to reward those guys. You want everyone to see we’re going to reward guys for doing it the right way.”
The Texans, as they did with Stingley, want to keep extending as many young players as possible.
“They’re setting the standard,” Cal McNair said. “They have come in and set the bar at a really high level. They’re great teammates and great leaders and we’re really happy to embrace that and get young players and continue to see them evolve and mature. We’re really looking forward to seeing where that chapter is going to lead.”
8 comments
WAJ will be paid all the money and he’s earned it, I’m actually excited for him to reset the market just like JJ did so long ago!
I would love for WAJ to retire a Texan. He’s my favorite current Texan with Sting as a close second.
Let’s make that happen. We need to back up the Brinks truck for him
That’s what every player on every team says as they come upon contract talks. Don’t see the front office NOT giving him a big contract, just hopefully not so big it prevents the team from being able to improve the roster with free agency over draft picks.
If Myles Garret just wasn’t a freak of nature WAJ would be the favorite for DPOY so I am for paying him like he is best edge rusher in the league
We want that too big fella
Thats my number one priority for the team. WAJ needs to retire in a Texans uniform hopefully more than ten years from now.
couldnt ask for a better successor to jj