The Houston Texans struck gold with their two first-round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, selecting C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. with back-to-back picks (second and third overall). The two rewarded the franchise by becoming immediate game-changers and winning Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year titles.
The problem is that the two are going to be up for extensions and that means the Texans will have to make some tough decisions here. Obviously both should get paid by the team and be with the organization for years to come but it's not always that simple.
Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated made a long list of bold predictions for the 2025 season and in those, he said "Only one of Houston’s 2023 draft stars—C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr.—will sign a market-topping contract extension after the 2026 NFL season".
"[A]fter another early playoff exit, the Texans are going to work feverishly to lock up Anderson before the Micah Parsons deal completely obliterates the pass-rushing market and makes signing one next to impossible. Parsons is playing on the fifth-year option.
That leaves Stroud to either cement his fortune or watch it dwindle the following offseason. Signing Anderson also creates leverage for the Texans by making it easier to eventually use a franchise tag on their quarterback."
Orr projects the Texans losing again early in the postseason and then getting right to work on extending Anderson rather than Stroud. This might surprise people but what Orr is saying does make sense.
SI just predicted potential contract nightmare for Texans
The Texans can't extend Anderson or Stroud until after this season and because both guys were first-round picks and both fifth-year options were picked up, both are under contract for at least three more seasons. That's the good news here.
The bad news is, like Orr pointed out, things will get hairy when the extension talks do officially happen. If what he predicts ends up becoming reality and Anderson's deal gets done first, the drama surrounding Stroud's contract will be unbearable in the months leading up to it (hopefully) getting done.
Orr also pointed out how if Anderson's deal gets done first, the Texans could use the franchise tag on Stroud. That'd be expensive, no doubt, but if it helps them get a deal done with Stroud later, so be it.
We're still a year away from truly having to worry about this stuff but hopefully, all of Orr's predictions here are off track. Let's hope the Texans don't have an early first-round exit (making the AFC Championship, or even the Super Bowl, for the first time in franchise history would be ideal) and they manage to get deals done with both of their star players who will be eligible this time next year.