CJ Stroud shares new details into lunch with Tom Brady
Texans rookie CJ Stroud is living such a charmed NFL life that even when he makes a key mistake, it all works out. And maybe, in a round-about way, he has Tom Brady to thank.
Stroud, the former Ohio State star, was the No. 2 player of April’s draft and one of three quarterbacks selected amongst the top four picks. He is, by far, enjoying the best success so far. Bryce Young, the top pick, still is winless at Carolina. And Anthony Richardson, who went No. 4 to the Colts, possibly is out for the year because of a shoulder injury.
Then there’s CJ Stroud, who already has an NFL rookie record to his credit. He didn’t throw an interception in his first 191 pass attempts. His first pick came last Sunday against the Saints on attempt No. 192. But it turned out OK because another teammate had his back. Saints linebacker Zack Baun picked off Stroud’s pass. But Texans receiver Nico Collins punched the ball out of Baun’s grasp, then recovered the fumble. It was almost like no harm, no foul.
“I appreciate Nico,” Stroud told Sports Illustrated, “for getting that turnover right back.”
That takes us back to the CJ Stroud, Tom Brady conversation. Late last spring, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin invited rookie quarterbacks Young, Stroud, Richardson and Will Levis to have lunch with Brady, who retired in February. And Brady passed along several morsels of wisdom. One bit of advice was about nurturing relationships with your teammates.
“On TV, you look at [star quarterbacks] and think, ‘Man, they’re just so busy. They can’t hang out with their teammates,” CJ Stroud told ESPN. “They’re probably just locked in on what they got going,'” And [Brady] was like, ‘I just never want to let my teammates down.’ He said those words exactly. I was like, ‘Man, that’s how I am.’
“I love kicking it with my boys. Those are my brothers. So it definitely hit home when he was talking about it.”
Collins was one of the skill players CJ Stroud invited to work out with him in Southern California this off-season. Stroud picked up the cost of the flights and hotel rooms. He took the Brady advice to heart.
“I enjoy fellowship,” CJ Stroud said. “If you can get a little getaway and be with your brothers, that’s all you need. We were staying together, eating together, like doing every little thing. So we see what guys care for. I wanted to build team bonding away from Houston, Texas, and bond with my guys.”