Texans’ ties that bind
In eight seasons together, Johnathan Joseph and Kareem Jackson have forged a tight bond
The 242 combined games in red and blue for Nos. 24 and 25 says so much but does not fully capture it.
Eight shared seasons on Kirby Drive highlights the deep bond but does not define it.
Shared beliefs. Mutual thoughts.
Opposite but similar. A fuller life thanks to the other’s individuality.
“When I first got here, all I read about and heard about were people just talking about his rookie season and how bad of a season that was,” said 34year-old Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph, referring to the 20th pick of the 2010 NFL Draft.
Eight years into a stronger-than-football friendship that will outlast their time in the league?
Kareem Jackson and Joseph have never been closer.
“It can be one word that I can say to him and he can see the exact same picture that I’ve just seen,” Joseph said.
Smart, fast and close
Christian Covington is screaming.
Andre Johnson and Cal McNair are standing together.
Nos. 24 and 25 walk side by side, calmly striding into the Texans’ locker room after a 34-17 victory over the Titans on “Monday Night Football” and a franchise-record eighth consecutive victory.
When you enter the room, Joseph — a trusted, respected veteran voice — is in the left corner. Jackson — funny and loud; quiet and thoughtful — is on the right.
Mention their bond to another Texan, and the same words always follow. Man, those guys are tight. “They’re connected at the hip. They’re like brothers,” said J.J. Watt, who joined the franchise in 2011, the same year Joseph signed with the Texans as a free agent from Cincinnati. “They’ve been like that since day one, since I’ve been here and J-Jo’s been here. They’re as thick as thieves. Everywhere you go, you see them together. When they’re outside of football, you see them together.
“As a defensive lineman, you’re very thankful to have good defensive backs, because they help have good coverage and then you get extra time to get sacks. They’re both two of the best at what they do, have been for a while, and I’m thankful for them.”
Since Joseph and Jackson linked up, Texans’ opponents have the second-lowest completion percentage (58.6) and average passing yards (216.7) in the NFL.
Jackson, 30, has outlasted Duane Brown and Brian Cushing to become the longest-tenured Texan.
Jackson is in the middle of a career season (63 combined tackles, 11 passes defensed, two interceptions, two forced fumbles) and has been Pro Bowlworthy during his ninth year on Kirby, despite switching to safety at the start of the season, then bouncing back to corner out of necessity. Some of the defense’s best hits this season have been courtesy of No. 25, and Jackson is enjoying a career resurgence as he approaches a decade in the league.
Joseph’s 177 career passes defensed ranks ninth in NFL history. He started all 16 games last season, has only missed one this year, and his perfectly timed Week 6 pick-six against Buffalo kept the Texans’ winning streak moving forward.
Jackson represents the athleticism in a Romeo Crennel-guided defense that has keyed the Texans’ turnaround.
Joseph, who was the 24th overall pick in 2006, is the wisdom that comes with having seen and been through everything. Yet he still possesses a daily fire for the redeeming power of the pro game.
“He’s a really great person — husband and a father. He’s played a lot of football,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “He’s played for a lot of different coaches — Marvin Lewis, Mike Zimmer, Romeo Crennel, myself, Gary Kubiak, Wade Phillips. … His leadership in the locker room is excellent. He’s a very smart guy. He’s helped us win a lot of games based on his film study. He’s seen it all, and he’s just a really good guy to have on the team.”
A veteran’s guidance
When Joseph met Jackson, he threw away everything he had heard and just watched.
The veteran saw a second-year player who needed “a little guidance.” But the NFL skill set was instantly evident. Then there was the human side of No. 25.
“He’s smart, got a great personality,” Joseph said. “He’s funny. He definitely has some spaz to him, some flash — he pops out. He’s a guy that, he can fit in anywhere — any type of environment, any type of locker room.”
Jackson soaked up Joseph’s knowledge. Between the lines, he saw a proven technician. Outside of NRG Stadium, Jackson found a friend who has stood beside him through organizational and life changes.
“He helped me a lot. Especially around that time when I was really still just kind of feeling my way through the league and just trying to learn how to be a professional,” Jackson said. “I was still learning a lot of stuff. He taught me a lot of stuff and helped me progress my game.”
The week after the Texans held on for a 23-21 road victory over Washington, Joseph and Jackson resumed the conversation that doesn’t end.
How much they’ve been through. The fact they’re still together, playing at a high level and adding shared memories that 99 percent of other NFL teammates only dream of.
“How many cornerbacks can you say played eight years together?” Joseph said. “I told Kareem I basically only had two starters to play with me in my career: Leon Hall and Kareem Jackson. Not many guys can say that.
“And I know (darn) well, for sure, not many corners can say they played eight years together in this league — and make any money.”
‘We’re like brothers’
Joseph is more fiery than you think.
Every time a Texans season has finished in recent years, it has (erroneously) been assumed it was Joseph’s last in red and blue.
“I was like, ‘You take the name off the back of my jersey, I guarantee you wouldn’t nobody in football say I couldn’t run,’ ” he said, referring to social-media chatter. “If you take the name off the back of my jersey and you remove my age — just look at the play itself on the field. I know that for (darn) well sure. Because I see a lot of guys around this league that I know can’t run. But I don’t say nothing. I just keep it to myself.”
Jackson can be a firecracker. He hilariously messes with the media and teammates. His KJack TV locker-room segments draw weekly laughs. Franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson sported a KJack T-shirt this week behind the podium.
But there’s also depth to Jackson, which is captured in the following words.
“The only way I could put it is we’re like brothers,” said Jackson, referring to a friendship with Joseph that has brought their families together. “We spend a lot of time together. … That’s the only way I can put it, man: We’re just like brothers.”
Eight shared years. Thirty-one total interceptions for the Texans, 952 combined tackles and 242 games.
Jackson’s in a contract year. Joseph, who spent his first five years with the Bengals, has one more season left on his deal but will turn 35 in 2019.
After all this time, there’s a shot this is their last year together with the Texans.
But Nos. 24 and 25 always will be together.
“I’m sure when it comes around, that thought will kind of start to creep in,” Jackson said. “But at the end of the day, that’s the business that we work in, that’s how it is sometimes. But even if it is, we’ll still keep in touch, I’m sure. We talk pretty much every day. That definitely won’t change anything in terms of our friendship.”