With CJ Stroud returning to Houston Texans practice earlier in the week, there was at least a glimmer of hope that the third-year quarterback would be able to make his return to the field this Sunday after missing Week 10's come-from-behind win over the Jacksonville Jaguars due to a concussion.
Perhaps predictably though, that optimism was slightly misguided and totally premature, because with 72 hours until kickoff in Week 11, the Texans have already ruled Stroud out for the second consecutive game.
"Houston Texans backup quarterback Davis Mills will get his second consecutive start in Week 11, as starter CJ Stroud remains out for Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans with a concussion," writes The Athletic's Jayna Bardahl.
In order to be removed from concussion protocol, a player needs to have back-to-back practices in which he doesn't display any concussion symptoms throughout the practice or afterward. That's a bar that Stroud wasn't able to clear, so accordingly, it will be Mills who will be under center once again hoping to lead the Texans to a second straight win. Mills threw for nearly 300 yards, 2 touchdowns and had the game-winning 14 yard touchdown run with under a minute to go versus Jacksonville.
Stroud missing a second game is on par with what happened the last time he was concussed. Back during his Rookie of the Year campaign, Stroud was knocked out of a Week 13 game against the New York Jets, forcing him to miss the next two as he remained in concussion protocol. The Texans split those two games, but then won their final two contests of the season in order to make the Playoffs for the first time since 2019.
This time around, the Texans can't afford a split without Stroud. At 4-5, Houston doesn't have much room for error, especially in what should be a winnable home game versus the 1-win Titans.
After Thursday's practice, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans also revealed that safety Jalen Pitre and Ka'imi Fairbairn would be sidedline yet again after missing Week 10 as well.