C.J. Stroud is due for a contract extension, as the former second-overall pick is dangerously close to the end of his rookie deal. Normally, teams with legitimate franchise quarterbacks find a way to come to terms long before this point, but the jury is still out on whether or not Stroud is the real deal. The Ohio State product took the league by storm as a rookie, starting and appearing in 15 games while guiding his team to the playoffs and completing 63.9% of his passes for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions. This impressive performance earned him Pro Bowl and Offensive Rookie of the Year honors
However, he has been unable to recapture that success in recent seasons. He had a solid yet underwhelming 2024 and continued to regress in 2025, completing 64.5% of his passes for just 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also finished his most recent season with one of the worst playoff performances in recent memory, completing just 20 of his 47 attempts for 212 yards, one touchdown, and a staggering four interceptions against the New England Patriots.
Given his lackluster performance over the past two seasons, the Houston Texans and Stroud have yet to come to terms on a fair deal for both sides. Now, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler is reporting that contract talks are on hold.
“Not a lot of momentum on a deal, talks are essentially on pause as of now,” Fowler said. “Now, Houston has been aggressive paying players, but they’ve been paying defensive players. … If they want to take care of Stroud, they’re going to have to make some progress this summer. Otherwise, there are some people around the league who very much believe he will play out the fourth year of his deal and try to get his value up.”
Texans, C.J. Stroud Put Contract Negotiations on Hold
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, 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.
