The Houston Texans named their 2022 team captains. The vote was held on Sept. 5, but coach Lovie Smith revealed the results when he met with reporters Wednesday.
Smith went over the five captains who will represent the Texans’ leadership for the upcoming season. The offense and defense each get two captains while the special teams will have one captain.
“The amount of other teammates that got votes that I could easily have seen in those leadership roles, that’s another step along the way,” Smith said. “As I said, it was good today.”
Here is a look at the five Texans captains.
QB Davis Mills — Offense
Smith let the cat out of the bag on the first day of training camp when he announced that he would be voting for Mills as a team captain. As such, the rest of the team may have followed suit in voting for Mills.
The second-year signal caller earning a captaincy instills confidence that there is leadership and ownership under center. Even though Mills earned a captaincy, the grind doesn’t stop.
WR Brandin Cooks — Offense
There wasn’t any doubt that Cooks was going to get a captaincy. After all, the veteran wideout invited teammates to train with him in his home state of Oregon during the offseason doldrums between the end of the offseason program and training camp.
Cooks is also of captain quality given the fact he has produced 1,000-yard seasons regardless of who is under center in Houston. Despite the turmoil that has swirled about inside NRG Stadium, Cooks has been the model of consistency.
DE Jerry Hughes — Defense
“It says a lot when your Jerry Hughes, which will be one of defensive captains, when you’ve only been in the building for less than a year, to have that kind of impact on your teammates,” Smith said.
Hughes is a lieutenant of new defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire, and has been able to show the younger players how to proceed in the system. The former Indianapolis Colts 2010 first-round pick also was part of the turnaround with the Buffalo Bills, and has an idea of what success looks like.
LB Christian Kirksey — Defense
Smith was pleased to have his quarterback and his middle linebacker selected as team captains.
“Luckily for us, we have guys that really lead that way,” said Smith.
Kirksey played in 13 games for Houston last year and started in 12 of them.
LS Jon Weeks — Special teams
Weeks has been another staple on the roster, and each game that he suits up extends the record for most games played as a Houston Texan. The Pro Bowler will get a shot at 194 against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.
