Denver Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine and Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Sometimes things happen so fast in the NFL that it’s hard to make decisions in the moment, like when Denver Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine blasted Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud with what might have been an illegal hit in Week 9 that knocked Stroud out of the game.
Even though Abrams-Draine wasn’t flagged for unnecessary roughness in the moment, it doesn’t mean he’s going to avoid punishment, necessarily, and especially if Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has his way.
The Broncos went on to win, 18-15, on a last-second field goal for their sixth consecutive win to improve to 7-2. It’s a win likely made more possible by the fact Stroud wasn’t playing.
“(Abrams-Draine) hit the quarterback when he sliding and giving himself up,” Ryans said after the game. “If I’m incorrect on the rules, I’ve seen that happen multiple times with our guys, and we get the penalty.”
A slowed down look at the play shows Stroud not committing to the slide until the last second and Abrams-Draine turning his body to make contact with Stroud with his shoulder and not his head. Stroud’s head smacked the turf after the hit.
For Ryans, there’s some irony in hearing him weigh in on a quarterback getting injured on a slide — considering his team’s own recent history.
Texans Hit in 2024 Caused Massive Controversy
Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was the person behind one of the dirtiest plays in recent years when he hit Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on a slide in December 2024 and knocked him unconscious — a hit that ended Lawrence’s season.
NFL Vice President of Rules and Operations Jon Runyan came down hard on Al-Shaair, with the league ultimately handing out a 3-game suspension.
” … continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both (Al-Shaair) and (his) opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated,” Runyan wrote.
Al-Shaair was let somewhat stunned there wasn’t a flag on Abrams-Draine.
“I know (Abrams-Draine) wasn’t trying to hurt C.J., because I know I wasn’t trying to hurt (Lawrence) last year,” Al-Shaair told Sports Talk 790’s Adam Wexler. “But yeah, I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a flag, you know, with everything I went through.”
Abrams-Draine Part of NFL’s Flagship Defense
Abrams-Draine is in his second year with the Broncos after he was drafted in the fifth round (No. 145 overall) out of Missouri in the 2024 NFL draft. He only played 5 games as a rookie but has been a steady contributor in all 8 games this season.
The game against the Texans was also the first this season where the Broncos were without cornerback and NFL Defensive Player of the Year Patrick Surtain II, who missed the first of what could be 3 games with a pec strain.
“(Abrams–Draine) hit his chest and Stroud’s head slammed hard off turf,” The Denver Post’s Troy Renck wrote on his official X account. “No penalty on the play. Crowd furious. Stroud walked off under his own power. That is good news. The reason no penalty is bc no contact to head. So flag picked up.”
Rivalry Heats Up: Lions Eye Packers Player in Controversial Trade Idea
The Detroit Lions are coming off a heartbreaking 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, November 2, at home, and that defeat showed that the team has some holes in their lineup to fill if they want to go all the way for the 2025-26 season. One of those holes, of course, is when it comes to the defensive end position.
The Lions have a star player in Aidan Hutchinson, who has clocked seven sacks this season, according to NFL research. During the team’s game against the Minnesota Vikings, Hutchinson had one sack and two tackles, ESPN notes. The numbers and statistics show that he’s delivering this season, but he can’t do it alone.
So, the Detroit Lions are wise to look at trading to get a solid defensive end to help Hutch before the NFL’s trade deadline of Tuesday, November 4. If they don’t want to spend the bag, or picks, of one of the top edge rushers in the league, they have another option who’s with their foes, the Green Bay Packers.
Detroit Lions Trade Pitch Snags Green Bay Packers Player
If the Detroit Lions don’t want to spend it all to get a top edge rusher such as Trey Hendrickson, they have someone else waiting in the wing. Their next best option is right around the corner with a rival in the NFC North.
Enter Green Bay Packers defensive end Kingsley Enagbare. The Packers don’t really need him and are putting all of their eggs into the Micah Parsons basket, so they are certainly sellers. Plus, the Packers could use draft capital after giving the Dallas Cowboys two first-rounders for Parsons.
So, in this trade pitch, the Detroit Lions get Enagbare, and the Packers get a fifth-round pick. It’s a fair trade, and both teams get what they need from it. Are you listening, Brad Holmes? Give Hutch a break.
Detroit Lions’ Dan Campbell Talks Loss to Minnesota Vikings
Following the Lions’ loss to the Vikings, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell talked about the pressure that the Vikings’ defense had on the team. “Self-induced. Oh, yeah. Very disappointing,” he said. “We knew what we were going to get going into this. We knew there would be some wrinkles, but there was nothing that we hadn’t seen before. We did not – we didn’t handle it. We did not handle it well.”
He added, “I know we got beat on a couple of them, just physically beat on a couple that we expect not to. We expect more out of our guys. But some of it, we act like it was something exotic. It wasn’t. We just didn’t handle it well. We weren’t on the same page. We were not on the same page.”
Later, Campbell reiterated that the Vikings didn’t pull out anything new against the Lions. “No, I mean they changed a few things up. He changed his MO,” Campbell said. “But what I’m saying is, this is the third year we’ve played them. We’ve seen all of this at some point. That’s my point.”
He added that the Lions also didn’t “handle some of the communication well” and that they need to all be on the same page in the future. The future is the team’s game on Sunday, November 9, against the Washington Commanders.
