Texans’ Derek Stingley Jr. goes viral after sideline ball breaks his chain

While the preseason is supposed to be about rookies acclimating themselves to professional football and reserve players showing the coaching staff they deserve a spot on the roster, first-team players like Derek Stingley Jr. of the Houston Texans are not supposed to have a difficult time in the summer. This is especially true when they have made two first-team All-Pro appearances in their first four seasons.

The TV cameras found Derek Stingley Jr. at the wrong time right as the football broke his chain in two

: ESPN pic.twitter.com/J6LkzOMLFr

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) August 21, 2026

There is no doubt that Stingley is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, and that he will likely remain an elite performer in the 2026 season as long as he remains healthy. However, Stingley suffered a loss Thursday night in the Texans’ preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Stingley was standing on the sidelines during the game and was causally observing the action and drinking a beverage when a football came his way.

Stingley was able to catch the ball with ease, but it also happened to hit his chest where his ornate chain with a “Sting” designation hung down. Once ball hit the chain, the notable design portion of that neckware broke and hit the ground.

Always the cool customer, Stingley did not react to the chain breaking, but he clearly was not happy with the development.

The Texans were not overly thrilled with the way the second half of the game against the Raiders played out. Houston took a 20-3 lead into the locker room at halftime, but the second half belonged to the Raiders. Las Vegas blanked Houston 19-0 in the second half, including the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining that gave the Raiders a 22-20 triumph.

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