It’s not yet the second full weekend of May, but Indianapolis Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin appears to be counting down the months, weeks, and days until he can see the Houston Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud again.
“It really be Houston,” Franklin stated during an appearance on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast of Indianapolis’ main adversary, as reported by Grant Gordon of the NFL’s website and Madison Williams of Sports Illustrated. “I won’t lie to you: I like C.J., man. I support all of our young quarterbacks, but C.J. has said some crazy things to me during our run-ins. He’s feeling himself. “I need to see that boy again.”
According to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN), the Texans eliminated the Colts from the playoffs with a 23-19 victory in Week 18 at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium on January 6. The Texans went on to win the wild-card playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, and the previously mentioned Stroud was voted Offensive Rookie of the Year.
According to Gordon, Stroud threw for 648 yards and four touchdowns in his first two games versus the Colts. While Indianapolis won the Week 2 game, Stroud and his teammates eventually had the last laugh.
“Well, we were talking, and you know how the Super Bowl is at Radio Row, he had the XM Radio right before me, and he was on there talking about how he cooked the Colts in both games,” Franklin said of Stroud during the podcast. “I was like if that’s what you consider a cooking with the loss, I mean congratulations.”
Franklin also reminded Stroud that Houston had not yet defeated Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. Richardson, the fourth choice in the 2023 draft, sustained a concussion in Week 2 and was sidelined with a season-ending shoulder injury by January.
The Texans are the betting favorite to win the AFC South division title this season, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with odds of +110. In comparison, the Colts were at +340 odds.
Following Franklin’s comments, both Indianapolis and Houston may have some bulletin board material to peruse before their first meeting this fall.
