C.J. Stroud is entering his fourth season in the league, which means the Houston Texans must soon decide on his future with the organization. Selected with the second-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, there was a time when the Ohio State product looked like one of the next great young quarterbacks in the league. Starting and appearing in 15 games, the quarterback completing 63.9% of his passes for 4,108yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions while guiding his team to the playoffs and making the Pro Bowl.
Unfortunately, he never managed to replicate his rookie success, as his number dropped in each of the next two seasons. He also finished his 2025 campaign on the lowest of notes by imploding against the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round. In total, the quarterback completed just 20 of his 47 attempts for 212 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions.
Now entering the fourth year of his career, C.J. Stroud is eligible for a contract extension and believes he’s done enough to earn a massive raise.
“I let my agent handle all that. If it’s time to do it, then it is,” Stroud said, per ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime. “My job is football. That’s what I’m focused on, just getting better. I think I’ve held my bargain up. Whatever happens, happens.”
Texans Currently Unwilling to Sign C.J. Stroud to Massive Contract Extension
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this saga unravels over the next few years. While Stroud hasn’t matched the highs of his rookie year, there’s no denying that he is a top-32 quarterback and should start somewhere. After all, he’s guided his team to the postseason in each of his three seasons at the helm and generally knows how to take care of the football (his most recent playoff performance notwithstanding).
On the other hand, however, Stroud is far from an elite quarterback and may not be able to perform as efficiently with a weaker roster. Starting quarterbacks normally take up a massive percentage of the salary cap, but Stroud is still on his rookie contract. This means the Texans can use the additional savings to bolster the rest of the roster and place less of a burden on their inexperienced passer. If Stroud received a market-level contract, Houston won’t be able to do this, and Stroud might not be able to carry a flawed roster into the postseason.
We’ve seen good-but-not-great quarterbacks like Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones receive franchise-altering contracts in recent seasons, and it hasn’t worked out for the teams signing those contracts. Arizona fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury one year after that extension and released Murray this offseason. The New York Giants, meanwhile, benched Daniel Jones and fired head coach Brian Daboll despite the $40 million per year investment in the quarterback.
Contract Timing
The NFL has yet to find a proper market value for these good-but-not-great quarterbacks like C.J. Stroud. Fortunately for the Texans, they don’t need to decide on his future quite yet. The former second-round pick is now entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, and the team already exercised the fifth-year option in his deal. These next two seasons should give Houston all the information they need to decide on his future, but they have ways to prolong the decision if they’re still unsure on the quarterback.
Hypothetically, the Texans could use the franchise tag in 2028 and 2029 to keep Stroud in Houston without needing to make a long-term financial commitment. However, only time will tell if they go down this route.
