Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud can sling it, but the results have been a mixed bag over three years, with roaring highs and concerning lows.
Now, it’s decision time, as Stroud is extension-eligible. What are the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year’s thoughts on the matter?
“I let my agent handle that [extension talks]. If it is time to do it, then it’s. My job is soccer. That is what I am targeted on, simply getting higher. I feel I’ve held my discount up,” Stroud stated on the Texans’ OTAs on Thursday, according to ESPN. “No matter occurs, occurs.”
Within the aforementioned 2023 marketing campaign, which additionally noticed Stroud earn a Professional Bowl nod, he totaled 4,108 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a 100.8 passer score (sixth amongst NFL quarterbacks) throughout 15 regular-season video games, whereas finishing 63.9% of his passes (twenty second) in a 12 months that noticed Houston win the AFC South at 10-7 and make the playoffs for the primary time since 2019; they defeated the Cleveland Browns within the wild-card spherical earlier than dropping to the Baltimore Ravens within the divisional spherical.
Stroud & Co. adopted up 2023 with one other 10-win season, a division title and a wild-card spherical victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024. On the similar time, they have been once more eradicated within the divisional spherical, this time by the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. Within the common season, Stroud threw for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, whereas posting an 87.0 passer score (twenty fifth) and finishing 63.2% of his passes (twenty seventh).
Then, final season, Stroud posted 3,041 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 92.9 passer score (seventeenth) throughout 14 regular-season video games, whereas finishing 64.5% of his passes (twentieth). Houston received the AFC South and reached the divisional spherical for a 3rd consecutive season, going 12-5. Nevertheless, the Texans have been additionally eradicated within the divisional spherical for a 3rd consecutive season, with Stroud throwing 4 interceptions in opposition to the New England Patriots within the season-ending loss.
“I’m a motivated individual regardless. After all, [the playoff struggle] helps,” Stroud stated. “I’ve discovered to let failures and successes go shortly.”
No matter one’s view of Stroud, he is more likely to grow to be a top-10, if not top-five paid quarterback given the contracts {that a} handful of signal-callers who’re arguably in the identical ballpark as him from a sheer pedigree standpoint have acquired; Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love are in a four-way tie with Josh Allen and Joe Burrow for being the second-highest paid quarterback within the sport with a $55 million common annual worth of their respective contracts; Brock Purdy and Jared Goff are tied for sixth amongst quarterbacks with a $53 million common annual worth of their respective offers.
The Texans chosen Stroud with the No. 2 choose within the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State; they exercised his fifth-year choice for 2027 in April.
