EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsHOUSTON -- Just over two years ago, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was a guest on a podcast and ranked himself among the top five QBs in the league, based solely on the 2023 season.A week ago, Texans GM Nick Caserio was asked about possibly trading his quarterback after online trade rumors.Caserio shut down the possibility. But the fact he was asked reveals how far Stroud's roller-coaster career has dipped in such a short period of time."We are not trading the guy. He's our quarterback," Caserio said Tuesday. "He's going to be playing quarterback for the Houston Texans in 2026."Caserio said the chatter was "moronic," but that sometimes happens when a QB struggles as badly as Stroud did in a divisional round loss to the New England Patriots in January.Stroud threw four first-half interceptions, putting the Texans in an early hole they couldn't escape. Houston fell 28-16, squandering a season in which its defense ranked No. 2 in points allowed (17.3 per game) and looked primed for a Super Bowl push.But despite the playoff exit ending in frustration, Stroud's three-year rsum is layered with historic highs in both the regular season and postseason.The 2023 No. 2 pick burst onto the NFL landscape, becoming the fifth rookie to pass for 4,000 yards in a season and the first Ohio State quarterback to be named to a Pro Bowl.In his three years, Stroud has compiled 28 regular-season wins (seventh most), a 54.9 QBR (20th), 10,876 passing yards (ninth), 25 interceptions (12th fewest among quarterbacks with at least 30 starts) and 62 touchdown passes (tied for 14th) in the regular season. And in the playoffs, he has three wins (tied for fourth in that span), 1,438 passing yards (fourth) and six touchdown passes (eighth).But his volatility has shown up in the playoffs, too -- where his six interceptions are the most.Stroud's regular-season and postseason performances paint the picture. He has shown he is capable of brilliance, like in 2023 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- when he threw for 470 yards (the most by a rookie) and five touchdowns, with the most important one being the game winner with 6 seconds left -- and in 2025, when he led the Texans to a 44-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens and threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns -- earning AFC Player of the Week honors.As a rookie, Stroud became the youngest quarterback (22 years, 102 days) to win a playoff game when the Texans beat the Cleveland Browns, 45-14, in the wild-card round. He threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns, tying a playoff record for touchdowns by a rookie.But Stroud has stretches that invite scrutiny (i.e. the Patriots loss). Even Houston's opening-round playoff win this season was a little rocky.Despite beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 30-6, Stroud's passing numbers weren't bad -- finishing the night 21-of-32 for 250 yards and one touchdown -- but he had three turnovers (two fumbles and an interception). He also finished the game with five fumbles, becoming the first player to do that and win a game since Eli Manning in 2007. Stroud also became the first to do it in the postseason."[Stroud] has played a lot of good football," Caserio said. "He's won a lot of games, done a lot of great things for this organization. I think all of us are excited about the opportunity in front of us for the 2026 season. It's a year-to-year league. We're focused on the 2026 season, trying to put our best team together. "The Texans have had a successful tenure with Stroud and coach DeMeco Ryans landing in Houston just three months apart. They have helped spearhead a franchise that was floundering in a losing culture from 2020 to 2022 -- spotting a 11-38-1 record in that span -- to three straight divisional-round appearances with two AFC South titles.The Texans have to decide if they want to pick up Stroud's fifth-year option by May 1. He also became eligible for a contract extension this offseason, but following the playoff run Ryans said, "We're not getting into that right now." The Texans signal-caller said, "It's not in my control.""I did what I did on the field the last three years, and I thought I started off my career in a very great way," Stroud said. "I'm 24, I got a lot of ball left ahead of me. I think I look back, I look at my career and I'm doing a lot of things that, early in my career, a lot of people haven't done in a long time. So, I'm grateful for that."Stroud threw for 4,108 yards in 15 games as a rookie, but he hasn't eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark since. One could say that sacks were a part of the reason in Year 2, when he was sacked 52 times (second most), but the sacks went down to 23 in 2025 -- and he still threw for a career low of 3,041 yards. He did suffer a concussion that caused him to miss three games, but his yards per game average (217.21) was still the lowest of his career even with his QBR (61) being the highest.Despite being undefeated in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Stroud is 0-3 in the divisional round. In wild-card games, Stroud has thrown for 806 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. But in the divisional round, he's completing 53% of his throws for 632 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions.Following the loudest criticism he has faced, he said he'll handle the noise by falling "back on my faith.""First and foremost, before I was anything, I've been a son of the most high God my whole life, and that's never going to change," Stroud said. "My salvation is paid for, so when I look at that, that's the foundation of my life. Everything other than that is just bonuses. I have a lot to be grateful for."I got a great career, I'm 24, living out my dreams, I'm doing something at a high level for three years now, somewhere I didn't think I would be when I was a kid, and the Lord has blessed me in that."When Caserio was asked in February about Stroud's potential contract extension he continued his status quo approach. But he kept the standard reply about not "talking publicly about contracts in anybody's particular situation.""We take it one day at a time and just try to piece the team together and try to do, ultimately, what we feel makes the most sense for our team and the organization," Caserio said Tuesday. "No timetable on anything, but we'll handle business as business is being done."You could add defensive lineman Will Anderson Jr. to that same conversation for the Texans and Caserio. Anderson, like Stroud, is eligible for an extension and is due for a mega payday. Anderson has been there every step of the way with Stroud. He was drafted with the No. 3 pick in 2023, right after Stroud. Anderson's support, like many of their Texans teammates, remains as strong as ever for Stroud."There's nobody better than [Stroud]," Anderson said after their playoff loss. "We are behind him, we rally behind him, we didn't get the outcome we wanted, but that's why we have the offseason for, to get better and grow."
