"Man, y'all know me, that's my boy, I would love to have Stef back," Stroud said Monday via the team's official transcript. "And man, I think we were just getting started. Like you see he was having so much fun and me and him were starting to build a rapport."

General manager Nick Caserio and coach DeMeco Ryans will decide if team will pursue Stefon Diggs in free agency but players want the WR back.

In his first season with the Texans, Diggs caught 47 passes for 496 yards and three touchdowns before tearing his ACL in October. At 31 years old and coming off an ACL tear, Diggs might not be in the prime of his career, but he is clearly valued by his Texans teammates.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud lobbied for the team to retain wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who is heading to free agency this offseason. Stroud

They lost Tank Dell to a devastating knee injury a few weeks ago, and of course they also lost their major offseason acquisition, Stefon Diggs, earlier in the year. And if C.J. Stroud has his way, Diggs will be back next season.

When asked about Diggs, the Texans' superstar quarterback made it extremely clear that he hopes the former Buffalo Bill returns to Houston, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston. The 23-year-old quarterback is hopeful Diggs returns so they can continue building chemistry together.

Texans quarterback CJ Stroud expresses uncertainty over Stefon Diggs' future as the team navigates free agency. Stroud and Joe Mixon hope for Diggs' r