It's been an offseason of historical proportions for the Houston Texans, and the franchise's latest splash elicited cheers from the McNair family.
Along with the cheers, the trade to acquire wide receiver Stefon Diggs from the Buffalo Bills underscored the club's focus on 2024 being a season to remember.
"We want to win now," Hannah McNair said Thursday in an interview with KPRC2's Randy McIlvoy alongside husband and principal owner Cal McNair.
The swap for Diggs was a resounding success in the McNair household, as Hannah, the Texans foundation vice president, said it drew an audible reaction from her sons.
"Our boys, when they heard the Stefon Diggs news, were screaming around the house," Hannah said, "and then their friends said their teacher stopped class to tell everyone, so there's quite a buzz amongst the younger generation about the guys that we brought in, so that's exciting."
Among the guys Houston has brought in are Diggs, pass rusher Danielle Hunter and running back Joe Mixon. According to NFL Research, the acquisitions made the Texans the first team in history to add players who respectively had 100-plus receptions, 10-plus sacks and 1,000-plus rushing yards in the year before they were brought on.
Thus, the Texans have rolled with the momentum created in a surprisingly successful 2023 campaign.
It was one in which Houston won the AFC South title and advanced to the Divisional Round, turning around a franchise that had previously posted three straight single-digit-win seasons.
The buzz-garnering offseason moves have made it clear that the franchise isn't content on celebrating its 2023 success or ready to waste time while the window is open with star quarterback C.J. Stroud on his rookie contract.
Diggs appears ready to go and so too is Texans ownership, which is welcoming of the high hopes for the season ahead.
"We embrace the expectations," Cal McNair said. "It's where we want to be. At the same time, it's about building the team and the team being coached and working hard. It's the day-to-day things that are going to get us where we want to get to. But we got to stay focused and work hard every day to bring about where we want to go."
