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Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud can throw it, but the results have been a mixed bag over three years, with roaring highs and troubling lows.
Now it’s decision time, as Stroud is eligible for an extension. What are the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year’s thoughts on the matter?
“I let my agent handle it [extension talks]. If it’s time to do it, so be it. My job is football. That’s what I focus on, just getting better. I think I’ve held up my trade,” Stroud said at the Texans’ OTAs Thursday, according to ESPN. “Whatever happens, happens.”
In the aforementioned 2023 campaign, in which Stroud also earned a Pro Bowl nod, he totaled 4,108 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, five interceptions and a 100.8 passer rating (sixth among NFL quarterbacks) across 15 regular-season games while completing 63.9% of his passes in the AFC South (2nd in Houston that year) 10-7 and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2019; they defeated the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round before losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
Stroud & Co. followed up in 2023 with another 10-win season, a division title and a wild-card win over the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024. At the same time, they were again eliminated in the divisional round, this time by the Kansas City Chiefs. In the regular season, Stroud threw for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while posting an 87.0 passer rating (25th) and completing 63.2% of his passes (27th).
Then, last season, Stroud posted 3,041 passing yards, 19 touchdown passes, eight interceptions and a 92.9 passer rating (17th) across 14 regular season games while completing 64.5% of his passes (20th). Houston won the AFC South and reached the divisional round for the third straight season at 12-5. The Texans were, though also eliminated in the divisional round for a third straight season, with Stroud throwing four interceptions against the New England Patriots in the final season loss.
“I’m a motivated person regardless. Of course, [the playoff struggle] helps,” Stroud said. “I’ve learned to let failures and successes pass quickly.”
Regardless of one’s view of Stroud, he will likely be a top-10, if not top-five paid quarterback given the contracts received by a handful of signal callers who are arguably in the same ballpark as him from a pure pedigree standpoint; Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love are in a four-way tie with Josh Allen and Joe Burrow for the second-highest paid quarterback in the sport with an average annual value of $55 million in their respective contracts; Brock Purdy and Jared Goff are tied for sixth among quarterbacks with an average annual value of $53 million in their respective deals.
The Texans selected Stroud with the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State; they exercised his fifth-year option for 2027 in April.
