When Christian Kirksey was choosing an NFL employer this offseason, he weighed a lot more than financial considerations.
What resonated with the veteran defensive player was how he could fit into the Texans’ 4-3 defensive system that features the linebacker position.
Defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, a former Tulsa standout linebacker, has coached prolific linebackers in the past, including Derrick Brooks, Hardy Nickerson, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Lavonte David and Kwon Alexander.
That cemented Kirksey’s decision to sign a one-year contract with a maximum value of $4.5 million.
“Coming from Lovie’s experience and his history of football and just his knowledge of football, it’s definitely something that’s good for me to learn from a guy like him,” Kirksey said. “His defense is very linebacker friendly. It gives you a chance to run around, have fun, make plays. He puts a lot on his linebackers and he wants a lot of athletic linebackers. I feel like me personally, being in his system, it’s a lot of fun because it allows you to play ball. I think that every linebacker can speak for himself as far as going out there and making plays and being in this defense.”
Kirksey, 28, had 77 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and four passes defensed last season for the Green Bay Packers before tearing his pectoral and undergoing surgery. He’s on track for a full recovery.
A former third-round draft pick of the Browns, Kirksey was previously signed by Cleveland to a four-year, $38 million contract extension that included $20 million guaranteed. He has recorded 542 career tackles, 13½ sacks, four interceptions, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
Playing alongside the NFL’s leading tackler, Zach Cunningham, Kirksey arrives at a competitive time for a team coming off a 4-12 season. General manager Nick Caserio has signed multiple players to one-year and two-year contracts. Kirksey is a projected starter, but there’s a lot of competition at linebacker after adding Kevin Pierre-Louis and Neville Hewitt and drafting Garret Wallow.
“We’re a veteran group of linebackers,” Kirksey said. “ It’s a lot of guys that have experience in that group, so as far as positions specifically, we’re all just learning all three linebacker roles to where we can be interchangeable. I think when you have a group of veterans that you can plug in at any spot, that’s just raising the intensity level in the room and just raising the play in the room. We’re all just building that chemistry and vibing off each other. We’re building that leadership in that room. Everything is going great. Like I said, guys are building that bond. We’re trying to be the best linebacker corps in the league. That’s our motto and that’s what we’re aiming for.
“When you bring out a bunch of guys that can easily start on another team and be a key factor on another team, when you bring all these guys on one squad, it’s going to raise the competition level. We’re all competitors. We don’t shy away from hard work. We don’t shy away from competing. That’s really how you build a team. There’s a lot of guys here from one-year deals and they just come in here with a chip on their shoulder or come in here like, ‘I want to earn my keep.’ That’s just going to bring the intensity up. As a competitor, you like that. It brings the best out of you. I’m looking forward to this camp. I know that we’re going to build the right team and I know that we’re going to be dominant.”
A year ago, Kirksey purchased a home for his mother in Spring. When he plays for the Texans, Kirksey will have a large cheering section.
“Being close to family, that’s pretty cool to be able to play in the same city that my mother is in, my brother, my aunt, my uncles, they’re all here,” Kirksey said. “When it comes to a new team and bringing in new guys and everybody’s trying to grind, everybody’s trying to compete, everybody’s trying to bring [the] Texans back to where it’s supposed to be. I want to be a part of that. I’ve always liked being part of starting somewhere from square one and then looking up and saying, this team that we built, it’s a team that people were kind of counting us out and now here we are.
“I like to be a part of that. Once I found out that Lovie Smith was the defensive coordinator, from a defensive standpoint everybody knows that Lovie Smith is a legend. Playing and seeing what he’s done in the past, especially at the linebacker position, it’s almost like a no-brainer that you want to be under his coaching staff and you want to be coached by a great. That’s really what steered my decision to becoming a Texan.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128.