Unbelievable: C.J. Stroud Said Choosing Houston Texans Was The Biggest Mistake He Has Ever Made….

Saquon Barkley says the Texans were a strong contender for his services before he signed with the Eagles.

Barkley says he spoke with C.J. Stroud and some other Texans players before free agency started and was very interested in Houston.

“Probably the team that had my first interest was Houston. I got to communicate with C.J. and a couple of those boys, but this was before when you could actually put offers on the table and talk to teams,” Barkley said on the New Heights podcast, via the New York Post.

The Eagles’ signing of Barkley is under investigation after Barkley’s college coach said that Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman talked to Barkley before free agency began. That would be against NFL rules, but it was legal for Stroud and other players to recruit Barkley.

Barkley said he had a couple good offers in free agency but felt best about Philadelphia, which is not far from where he played his college football at Penn State.

“I probably never imagined myself playing for Philly six years ago, but I get to come back to Pennsylvania, my family is from Pennsylvania, my lady, our kids, grandmas all that is from Pennsylvania and we’re already close and we can even get to get closer and get a chance to compete. I got to admire them from afar, admire what he was able to build over there and get to be part of that culture. It was a no-brainer for me,” Barkley said.

C.J. Stroud could have been anywhere in the world last week. The Houston Texans quarterback is in the midst of his first offseason, a year after his game was scrutinized and his play dragged through the mud ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.

As it turned out, reports of teams questioning Stroud’s ability to fit into an NFL offense that didn’t feature the number of weapons as the Buckeyes’ or his cognition after reportedly scoring poorly on the S2 Test turned out to be false. Stroud went No. 2 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He backed up Houston’s decision to select him, leading the Texans to the playoffs and winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Because of the pre-draft process, Stroud did not get much of an offseason last year. This year, he’s enjoying himself a bit more, playing in the NBA Celebrity Game during All-Star weekend, among other things. Last week, Stroud returned to Columbus and was back at Ohio State for the Buckeyes’ spring practice and pro day.

Stroud spent three seasons with the Scarlet and Gray, two of them as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. As a late riser in high school, Stroud blossomed into a college superstar during his time as a Buckeye, receiving back-to-back invitations to New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony before heading to the NFL. If you believe head coach Ryan Day, Stroud seriously considered returning for a senior year, demonstrating what Ohio State means to him.

“It’s tremendously special,” Stroud said of being back at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “I’ve built a lot of great relationships here that I’ll cherish for the rest of my life, man. I remember coming here, somebody told me, it’s not a four-year decision, it’s a 40-year decision. And I feel like for the next, however long God allows me to be on Earth, man, I’ll definitely know that this is a second home to me and I’m proud enough to be able to come back and still get love. And I really do appreciate everybody for watching me now that I’m in the NFL and things like that. But definitely, Columbus has

The Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints have reportedly move to the forefront of the Deshaun Watson sweepstakes, but trading for the Houston Texans quarterback complicates the salary cap situation a bit for both franchises, according to Adam Schefter. For the Falcons, they would need to move on from Matt Ryan, who remains under contract, while the Saints would no longer entertain the possibility of re-signing free agent quarterback Jameis Winston.

“Deshaun Watson will have a decision here that impacts the franchises for years to come,” Schefter said Friday during an appearance on SportsCenter. “Not only will he be playing for one of those teams in the NFC South, but he’ll be playing against the other team for presumably years to come. This decision will have ripple effects because also there are players that want to follow Deshaun Watson. He will help shift the balance of power in the NFC South with a simple decision.

“This is all going to happen as soon as Deshaun Watson agrees to waive his no-trade clause, which could could literally any minute now.”