Colts

Colts K Blake Grupe finished the season converting all 11 field goals and all 10 extra points after being signed in December. Grupe said he wanted to prove himself after arriving in Indianapolis.

“I basically just tried to get here and hit the ground running, show what I’m about, show what I can do and at the end of the day just be me,” Grupe said, via Mike Chappell.

Grupe is set to be a restricted free agent. Although he’s unsure about his future, he commented that he has a great relationship with ST coordinator Brian Mason and fellow K Spencer Shrader.

“I have no idea,” Grupe said. “That’s why we have agents. I know (Mason) is my guy and I love being here. Spence is my guy, too. It’s a weird time. I’m thankful I could make the decision difficult.”

Shrader is recovering from reconstructive knee surgery. The kicker said his goal is to resume kicking in OTAs.

“I think I’ll be on the faster end of that,” Shrader said. “My goal is that I’m kicking in OTAs (early/mid-June) but it might not be full-go, 100 percent operation. I’ll probably be working into it, getting comfortable, gaining confidence back. Then full-go would be like training camp. That’s realistic.”

Texans

• Texans GM Nick Caserio highly praised OL coach Cole Popovich and feels their offensive line “definitely” improved since last year: “I think Cole (Popovich) did a phenomenal job. That group definitely improved.” (Aaron Wilson)
• Texans WR Tank Dell missed the entire season after suffering a severe knee injury in December 2024. Caserio said Dell’s return is still To Be Determined, but anticipates him being available for their offseason program: “TBD. We have the resources available. I would anticipate him being available for offseason. Have a better idea when you get on field what that actually looks like, Knowing Tank, cautiously optimistic he can wbe Tank Dell.” (Aaron Wilson)
• As for a possible contract extension for QB C.J. Stroud or picking up his fifth-year option, Caserio said there are “business-wise” decisions they will discuss this offseason: “I’d say contractually, we haven’t talked really publicly about anyone’s contract… There’s some things, business-wise, that I’m sure we’ll discuss.” (Andrew Siciliano)
• Caserio continued on Stroud: “Really good season, done a lot of good things for this organization. C.J. played good football this year. In the end, the most important thing our ball security, we’ve shown we can take care of the football did a poor job Sunday, reality is what we can do better individually, taking care of the football for a quarterback , No. 1 job is to mitigate risk every single play.” (Wilson)
• Wilson reports that TE Cade Stover‘s MRI revealed no damage to his ACL.
• Caserio on RB Joe Mixon: “Very unique situation. Joe worked very hard to play football, never manifested itself. Opp to see in offseason relative to next year. Kind of a freak thing. It didn’t work out.” (Wilson)...