C.J. Stroud insists he wasn’t trying to show up Caleb Williams during their postgame interaction following the Texans‘ win on Sunday.
In a clip shared by NFL Films on Tuesday, Stroud was heard giving Williams words of encouragement and advice. He then appeared to grab Williams to re-engage in the conversation as the Bears‘ rookie quarterback was about to walk off the field.
Stroud explained that what he did was similar to what veteran players did for him last year.
“I was not trying to little bro him or anything,” Stroud told reporters. “He knows that, too. I have a ton of respect for him. I had so many guys coming to me after games last year and that meant the world to me that those guys even thought about giving me advice.
“So, I just try to give back to what the game is giving me. I wish him the best, man. I want him to do amazing in this league. I think he will.”
In the video, Stroud explicitly told Williams to “stop taking those hits” and to “learn from those mistakes.” He ended the conversation by assuring Williams he’d be a good quarterback in the league.
“Everything that you got, bro, is in you already, bro,” Stroud told Williams. “You’re going to be a hell of a player in this league.”
Williams, who was sacked seven times and threw two interceptions in Sunday’s game, wasn’t as engaging, keeping his replies to Stroud to just a few words.
“I appreciate it,” Williams said at the end of his conversation with Stroud.
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There was some debate over whether Williams was upset with how Stroud, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, spoke to him. “First Things First’s” Nick Wright believes that was the case.
“I think Caleb handled it as well as you could have given the fact he had to be absolutely furious,” Wright said. “They are contemporaries. That is not a big bro, little bro situation. Do you know how old Caleb Williams is? He’s [22] and he turns [23 in November]. Do you know how old C.J. Stroud is? He’s [22] and he turns [23 in October].
“Do you know how Caleb looks at C.J., I would imagine? He remembers this night [in 2022], when they were colleagues on the dais at the Heisman Trophy ceremony, and Caleb won the award.”
Williams didn’t speak much about the interaction he had with Stroud following Sunday’s game.
“We shook hands at the end of the game,” Williams told reporters postgame on Sunday. “That was about it.”
Stroud didn’t think Williams’ response to his interaction was negative.
“I don’t think he was trying to be any type of way [toward me]. He was just upset that they lost,” Stroud said. “I totally understand. So I have a ton of respect for that guy, man.”
Stroud’s moment with Williams wasn’t his only mic’d up sound that went viral from Sunday’s game. He told Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson to “stop telling your secrets on Richard Sherman’s podcast.”
“That palms look,” Stroud said when Johnson asked him to clarify. “You ain’t getting me. You ain’t getting me!”
In an appearance on Sherman’s podcast, Johnson explained that he got an interception in a game against the Minnesota Vikings last season by using the palms look to deceive quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Johnson appeared to smirk when Stroud reminded him about that.
Even though the Texans only put up 19 points on Sunday, Stroud didn’t seem to be fooled by the Bears’ defense. He completed 23 of 36 passes for 260 yards in the win.
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