WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – E.J. Speed diagnosed the play immediately, trusting his eyes and instincts about the pass to the fullback developing in front of him.
Speed took off toward the football on dead heat, closing ground fast as his reactions were textbook. Once he arrived, he grabbed C.J. Hamm by the shoulder pads and flung him to the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium.
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It was a strong debut performance for the tall and rangy Texans linebacker during a preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, serving notice that he deserves a role in an absolutely loaded defense he joined this offseason on a one-year, $5 million maximum value contract. Speed was the Texans’ highest-ranked defender with a 92.0 Pro Football Focus analytics grade.
He delivered another punishing tackle and broke up a pass.
“E.J. had a nice physical hit there,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker.
There was purpose behind everything Speed did on the field. He was all-business just as he was intentional in his decision to sign with the Texans over opportunities in free agency with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.
Speed weighed several key elements as he contemplated an important life and football decision, reflecting deeply as he navigated free agency.
#Texans veteran linebacker E.J. Speed @EJ_SPEED was all over the field against the #Vikings delivering some punishing hits for a 92.0 @PFF grade. His goals (Super Bowl, of course) and new hobby: painting @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/N53XIhDtW0
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 11, 2025
Ultimately, the veteran former Indianapolis Colts starting linebacker and Tarleton State standout found a comfort zone through his conversations with Ryans combined with the lure of returning to his home state of Texas and joining a defending AFC South championship squad built to contend. Speed has set his ambitions on one thing: winning it all with the Texans.
“My goal is to win the Super Bowl,” Speed told KPRC 2 during an interview at The Greenbrier Sports Performance Center in West Virginia leading up to the Vikings game. “I feel like with this team, it’s right at the cusp. And I just want to do everything that I can in my power, because I want a ring. At the end of the day, I want a Super Bowl, and I’m gonna be a part of something great."
As Speed went through his process, playing for a former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year whose San Francisco 49ers background included coaching Fred Warner and current Texans linebacker and team captain Azeez Al-Shaair resonated strongly.
“Quite honestly, DeMeco Ryans, defensive minded head coach, I loved what he did up in San Francisco with Fred and Azeez,” Speed said. “He always had a great linebacking corps. He actually worked me out coming out of college, so that was a good thing. We had that tie through there and just knowing what he did in the league. It’s always a good thing when you play with somebody who’s been through everything you’ve been through as a player and did it at a high level. That was a big part of my decision going to Houston.
“It’s different. He played in it. He played it, coached in it, was an assistant coach in it. So, it’s a lot of interesting things that he says that I can understand and can relate to my game on the field. And a lot stuff that he understands like where your eyes go and plays and stuff like that. So that been the biggest thing that I gained from this since I’ve been here.”
The Texans have won the division each of the past two seasons under Ryans’ leadership, winning a pair wild-card round playoff games before falling to 0-6 all-time as a franchise in the divisional round in the postseason, including this year to the Kansas City Chiefs.
They’ve had an extremely active and aggressive offseason that includes general manager Nick Caserio overhauling the offensive line, headlined by the trade of Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, trading for safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, signing multiple defensive linemen, including Sheldon Rankins, and signing All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. (three years, $90 million) and Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter (one year, $35.6 million) to blockbuster contract extensions. The all-in mentality and approach to chase a Super Bowl struck a chord with Speed.
“Of course, I played these guys twice a year so I know their goals,” Speed said. “Their goal is to go win a Super Bowl. They’ve got a loaded team. They’ve got rookies that did their thing this year. They’ve got veterans who did their thing this year. They’re right on the cusp of doing what needs to be done, but everybody knows that Sunday is the only time you can prove everything. You’ve got to prove it on Sunday.
“It’s a competitive division. The Colts, I’m sure they’re over there working hard. Jacksonville is working hard, we damn sure working hard. You know what I mean? It’s a competitive division that everybody got to show up in. You just never know what to happen. I know Houston had been on top for the last two years or so. So, I’m just excited to get here and play my role and do what I need to do to get to the next step.”
Speed, 29, recorded a career-high 142 tackles last season for the Colts as he started 15 games and recorded seven tackles for losses with one interception. He played 98 percent of the Colts’ defensive snaps.
Speed has set his ambitions on making it to the Pro Bowl for the first time. He’s been a full-time defensive starter for the past two seasons after entering the league as a fifth-round pick who quickly emerged as a special-teams ace.
“I just want to to be the best in the league,” Speed said. “I want to be the best in the league at my position, at the Will position. Right now, it’s Pro Bowl or bust for me. I got to get to the pinnacle of the position. At this point. I’m not letting that pass me by.”
Speed is in a competitive situation at linebacker with Henry To’oTo’o, a returning starter, and Christian Harris, a former starter who recently returned to practice from a calf injury that sidelined him for the majority of last season. However the starting lineup is decided next to Al-Shaair, Speed figures to have a solid role.
“I feel like competition is just gonna make everybody better,” Speed said. “Whether we’re here, whether we’re at another team, or whether you’re a role player, whether you got a player that got to come in midseason or start the season, whatever role that you win with the competition in this room, you want to excel at it."
A Fort Worth native, Speed was a quarterback and wide receiver at North Crowley High School who passed for 3,000 yards as an all-district quarterback as a senior. He was offered scholarships to Colorado, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma State, but decided to play at Tarleton State, a Division II program at the time, after his stepbrother was diagnosed with cancer.
Moved to linebacker, Speed emerged as All-Lone Star Conference selection. He finished his career with 231 tackles, 36 for losses, 11 1/2 sacks and eight forced fumbles and was drafted in the fifth round by the Colts. k
“It’s crazy just seeing how far Tarleton has came since I left and since I was there,” Speed said. “I noticed the growth when I was here and now it was just growing further. The coaches, they actually taught me how to play at this level, how to be at this level just mentally.
“And just being a guy with character. Never let your character take you out of a room that your talent is putting you in. So. Just always just try to balance it. We was big on character at Tarleton State. Now that I’m here, just everywhere, I just like to show off my character and my athleticism.”
Speed’s addition gives the Texans a starting candidate opposite Al-Shaair at Will linebacker in an aggressive 4-3 scheme that includes returning linebackers Henry To’oTo’o and Christian Harris, who’s coming off an injury-plagued season.
Getting to compete twice next season against his former team was another plus for Speed in joining the Texans. He posted an emotional goodbye message on social media after agreeing to terms with the Texans. Now, he gets to play against Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and quarterback Anthony Richardson.
“That will be lit,” Speed said. “Playing against some of those guys like JT and AR, I always got to play against them in practice, but I never got to bring them down, so it will be fun. I love Lucas Oil. I love the fans. I love Indianapolis, just taking a chance on me as a Division II kid in the fifth round.
“For whatever reason, it came to an end and now I’m in Houston. They took a chance on me, so it’s time to give them everything I’ve got. Situationally, going back to Indy, playing my guys that will be super fun. They’ll tell you the same thing. I’m a competitor. I talk a lot of trash in practice. Now, I get to back it up in games.”
Of course, Speed and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud have had a fun and friendly rivalry over the past two seasons that included banter and barbs through media and various podcasts. After games, they’ve greeted each other warmly and have known each other for years.
“I knew C.J. before he got into the league, actually,” Speed said. “Me and C.J. talk outside of football. we talk trash all the time, just two people who talk trash, that’s all that is. It wasn’t anything outside of having my podcast and trash talk. I just left another quarterback who has a lot of swagger and talks a lot of trash to another quarterback in the same draft class who does the same thing.”
Speed is a tall linebacker at 6-foot-4, 227 pounds. He became a full-time starter two seasons ago and finished with 102 tackles, 12 for losses, one sack and three forced fumbles.
For his career, Speed has 354 tackles, two sacks, 27 tackles for losses and four quarterback hits.
“Getting better is always the goal, that’s what we do,” Speed said. “All those stats, and everything I did in the last six years that’s behind us because that’s how the NFL season works. It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. Just have to keep improving and get better and keep striving.”
Speed’s $5 million contract includes a $1.75 million signing bonus and a $1.5 million fully guaranteed base salary for skill, injury and salary cap, per a league source.
The deal includes a $500,000 Pro Bowl escalator and $1 million in playtime incentives, $500,000 for 88 percent and another $500,000 for 90 percent of the defensive snaps. He can make up to $250,000 in per game active roster bonuses.
Speed is represented by agent Will Felix III of Maven Sports.
Known for his pursuit and athleticism as a run-and-chase linebacker, Speed plans to make his presence felt every play.
“Just downhill, hard-nosed, loves to make plays,” Speed said. “Getting the ball back is everything for me. Gotta get the ball. That’s why we play the game. is to take the ball away. Houston, they’ve got a great front. I want to have the most turnovers as a defense in the league.”
The painting of the Texans’ season is just starting. So is Speed as a budding artist who has taken up painting as a hobby.
“When I’m not playing footbal, actually, I’ve been doing some painting stuff,” Speed said. “I did some painting, trying to get more technical into it so I can hang up my own paintings around my house. That’s my hobby. You don’t need a Monet. You have E.J. Speed.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and c