Last year, ex-Indianapolis Colts linebacker E.J. Speedwas part of podcast banter with Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Now that Speed inked a one-year deal in Houston, his tune is more complimentary toward the star quarterback.
At one point last offseason, Speed said he planned to "(mess) C.J. up for the rest of his career."
On Sunday, Speed told Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston that the trash talk wasn't more than friendly repartee, a normal part of the game.
"I knew C.J. before he got into the league, actually," Speed said. "Me and C.J. talk outside of football. We talk trash all the time, just two people who talk trash, that's all that is. It wasn't anything outside of having my podcast and trash talk. I just left another quarterback who has a lot of swagger and talks a lot of trash to another quarterback in the same draft class who does the same thing."
After six seasons in Indy, Speed told Wilson he chose the Texans over the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. The 29-year-old said playing his former team twice next year adds a little spice to the division.
"That will be lit," Speed said. "Playing against some of those guys like JT (Jonathan Taylor) and AR (Anthony Richardson), I always got to play against them in practice, but I never got to bring them down, so it will be fun. I love Lucas Oil. I love the fans. I love Indianapolis, just taking a chance on me as a Division II kid in the fifth round.
"For whatever reason, it came to an end, and now I'm in Houston. They took a chance on me, so it's time to give them everything I've got. Situationally, going back to Indy, playing my guys that will be super fun. They'll tell you the same thing. I'm a competitor. I talk a lot of trash in practice. Now, I get to back it up in games."
Speed said coach DeMeco Ryans was a key reason he joined the Texans, adding to Houston's linebacker corps led by Azeez Al-Shaair, Henry To'oTo'o and Christian Harris, who is coming off an injury-plagued season. A chance to chase a Super Bowl was another significant factor.
"Of course, I played these guys twice a year so I know their goals," Speed said. "Their goal is to go win a Super Bowl. They've got a loaded team. They've got rookies that did their thing this year. They've got veterans who did their thing this year. They're right on the cusp of doing what needs to be done, but everybody knows that Sunday is the only time you can prove everything. You've got to prove it on Sunday."
