There was a time, not too long ago, that the idea of CJ Stroud not being the quarterback of the Houston Texans for the foreseeable future would've seemed absolutely ludicrous. Hell, it was only 18 months ago when Stroud, with only one season under his belt, was ranked the 20th-best player in the entire National Football League by his peers, ahead of guys like Puka Nacua, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Patrick Surtain II, Kyle Hamilton, Ja'Marr Chase, and the 2025 NFL MVP, Matthew Stafford.
It was borderline inconceivable that in such a short amount of time we'd be asking borderline existential questions about Stroud like, What the hell happened to the confident quarterback we saw during his rookie season? Is he worth a long-term extension?And perhaps most improbably,Should the Texans consider trading him?
But following back to back seasons in which Stroud rarely resembled the phenomenon he was during his rookie season, and most notably, a disastrous 2025 postseason run that included eight turnovers and at least a dozen What the hell was that throw? plays, this is very much the reality we're living in. Suddenly, these borderline existential questions are no longer hypotheticals. They are real questions that require fully vetted answers.
The time for talk about CJ Stroud's contract extension is now. Stroud is extension eligible this offseason -- as is Defensive Player of the Year runner up Will Anderson Jr., who should be first in line -- and thus far, nobody within the Texans organization, including general manager Nick Caserio, has provided a straight answer on when/if those negotiations will be taking place any time soon.
With the way Stroud's season ended, the likelihood that Anderson's extension will be prioritized, and how noncommittal the Texans have been regarding their 'franchise quarterback,' it's possible that Houston may have a problem this offseason. But with that problem could come an unexpected solution. NFL insider Albert Breer broke it down:
"If Stroud’s contract negotiations get sticky, or the Texans prefer to punt them to next year—while rewarding Anderson—will there be friction," Breer wondered. "Could that impact the Texans’ offseason? Might someone swoop in to see if they could pry the wildly talented 24-year-old away? These are questions other teams have certainly asked, as Stroud’s gone through his ups and downs."
In addition to this hypothetical scenario, Breer did note that he believes that the most likely outcome is that the Texans will exercise the fifth-year option on Stroud's rookie deal which would mean Stroud would be making a fully guaranteed $26.5 million in 2027. Doing so would give the Texans an additional year to either get Stroud right, or learn that despite a Rookie of the Year campaign in 2023, they weren't able to keep lightning in the very same bottle it was once captured.
But the idea of trading Stroud is interesting, and this definitely isn't the last time someone will toss that idea out there between now and either the start of the 2026 season, or the time when Stroud gets his extension... whichever comes first. Teams like the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings all have questions to answer at quarterback this offseason. How passionately the decision-makers of those franchises may believe that CJ Stroud is the answer remains to be seen.