C.J. Stroud is apparently recruiting one major free agent very heavily

The Houston Texans are hoping to land a major free agent or two (or three) this offseason and with the success of the 2023 Houston Texans still fresh on everyone's minds, that seems possible. Former first-year coach DeMeco Ryans has all the respect in the world from his players and other guys from around the league see how his players react to him. Maybe none more influential than C.J. Stroud.

Stroud and Ryans have found great success with one another and it's very likely that the tandem goes down in Texans' history as all-time greats for the franchise at their respective positions within the club (and for Ryans at linebacker as well, as he was a former player for the team). With such respect between head coach and star player, it's no wonder that Stroud has found his voice early.

Whether it's speaking up for guys like Brock Purdy and Justin Fields, or if it's making a pitch for the team to draft Tank Dell, clearly the organization respects their quarterback. So it's not surprising to hear that Stroud is making all the right moves trying to land multi-time Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley.

According to USA Today's Texans Wire, Barkley is in constant communication with Stroud. The two sides have reportedly been in communication for a while. It's alluded that the conversations go hand in hand with why Barkley started following Stroud and other top offensive players on the Texans roster. Further highlighting the possibility that these two men could in fact be playing together in Houston.

The report does state that nothing is locked down, but both sides seem to want to play with the other. This would end up being a heck of a pairing and would bring together two of the best Big 10 players in recent history, unifying them under the Texans' colors.