Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has been no stranger to criticism throughout the past several months.
From an up-and-down third season in 2025, to a fiery end in the postseason with his divisional round performance against the New England Patriots , to now facing a pivotal 2026 season with contractual and Super Bowl stakes in play, it's a huge yet for Stroud to prove the critics wrong.
But in recent days, there's been another name to add to the Stroud pile-on, and he's actually one of the more recognized names throughout the Texans franchise history: Pro Football Hall of Famer and Texans Ring of Honor member, Andre Johnson .
Johnson recently appeared on the "LGND TLK" podcast with former NBA player-turned-analyst Kendrick Perkins to discuss a bit about the Texans quarterback and some of his feelings about him and his play.
And in the interview, Johnson went on to point out one aspect of Stroud's game that "bothers" him when watching the Texans play. And in his mind, it stuck out in their last postseason game against New England that wasn't much of a typical critique: Johnson's not a fan of his body language.
"His body language is bad," Johnson said of Stroud. "Any timesomething happens, it's like... He has bad body language."
Johnson highlights this problem he sees in Stroud because of the importance the quarterback and his presence has on the offense.
If Stroud--who has the keys as the leader of the offense--has bad body language, that can affect those surrounding him as a bit of a domino effect; potentially in a situation like he faced against New England when throwing four interceptions in the first half of action.
Johnson, being in some heated battles himself during his 12 years in Houston, and pairing with some embattled passers throughout his tenure for over 1,000 catches and 12,000 yards, feels as if he can speak from experience as to how any off-putting piece of Stroud's body language can affect things.
"Me being a formerplayer, your quarterback having that kind of body language is bad because other guys look at you as the quarterback, so when they see you feeling a certain way or your body language is a certain way, it kind of trickles down to the team," Johnson continued. "I'd say that's the biggest thing that bothers me when I watch the team play."
Jan 18, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) after the game against the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Stroud's already seen enough talk about his on-field performance to close out the end of last season, and now that criticism has bled over into how he leads the team from one of the most accomplished names in franchise history . Not great.
So if Stroud wasn't already facing the implications of a "prove-it season" this year with all of the other factors surrounding him, comments from a franchise legend like this might as well add to an ever-growing list of bulletin board material for the Texans quarterback.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi as Texans Legend Calls Out C.J. Stroud to Be Better at This One Thing .
