Christian Kirksey knows a thing or two about the cold weather.
The 30-year-old linebacker spent the first seven seasons of his career playing in the cold weather — six years with the Cleveland Browns and a year with the Green Bay Packers.
Kirksey will renew his familiarity with the cold weather when the Houston Texans take on the Tennessee Titans Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at Nissan Stadium. The forecast is mostly sunny, 19 degrees, and 10 mile-per-hour winds.
“You don’t really pay attention to the cold,” Kirksey said. “With today’s game, we have heated benches. We have the big coats. With your adrenaline flowing, you’re out there running around, you don’t really pay attention to it at some point, at least for me.”
Kirksey’s pro career wasn’t just spent in the cold; the former Iowa Hawkeye played his college career in Iowa City, Iowa, where the average low can get below 30 degrees in November, when the college season winds down. Kirksey also played high school football in the St. Louis, Missouri, area for Hazelwood East.
Said Kirskey: “I’ve been around the cold my whole career for the most part. It’s a mental thing. Just go out there, you play football as a kid, playing in the snow, you just kind of have that same mindset. We’re just playing ball outside. Don’t even pay attention to the cold.”
The ninth-year linebacker has had a productive season with 107 combined tackles, 3.0 sacks, seven tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, an interception, a fumble recovery, and four pass breakups through 14 games, all of which he has started.
