On the finish of the 2023 season, the Houston Texans regarded like a staff in a perfect scenario. They’d a younger quarterback, C.J. Stroud, coming off a monster rookie season and had simply received a playoff sport, exceeding all preseason expectations and elevating the bar for what could be anticipated in future seasons.
However two years later, they’ve but to take the following step. In some methods, they appear to have regressed. That’s very true with the younger quarterback.
Relating to his regular-season performances, Stroud has regressed the previous two seasons and never but recaptured the magic he had from his rookie season. Maybe much more regarding is the best way he performed in Houston’s two playoff video games this yr, turning the ball over seven instances in two video games. The Texans had been in a position to overcome that within the wild-card spherical, nevertheless it did not go as well within the divisional spherical Sunday in opposition to the New England Patriots.
Now, it has them in a troublesome spot relating to Stroud’s future, and he might be getting into a possible make-or-break season in Houston in 2026.
Texans nonetheless have to determine what they’ve in C.J. Stroud
The difficulty for the Texans is not essentially Stroud’s skill or manufacturing, and even these previous two playoff video games.
He isn’t as unhealthy as he performed in these video games. He has three years of movie and information to point out that. Though his play has stagnated, and even perhaps regressed, he’s nonetheless a very good NFL quarterback. Is he nice? No. Is he one of many elites on the place? No. There are groups with objectively higher quarterbacks than him.
However there are additionally groups — and loads of them — with considerably worse quarterbacks.
An excessive amount of of the narrative round quarterbacks within the NFL proper now could be centered round quarterbacks both being elite or completely incompetent. There’s a vital vary of gamers in between these two tiers. Stroud is in that vary.
The issue is there’s not a lot of a spread when it comes to compensation on contracts.
Whereas there’s a center class of NFL quarterbacks when it comes to play, there isn’t any actual center class when it comes to monetary compensation or salary-cap commitments. All people on the place will get paid if they’re even competent as a starter, and that’s what will get loads of groups in bother.
Once you begin getting right into a scenario the place you might be paying gamers like Trevor Lawrence, Kyler Murray or Tua Tagovailoa the identical amount of cash that Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen are getting paid (or at the least in the identical ballpark), you’re going to restrict how one can construct the remainder of your staff. Generally investing within the incorrect quarterback is worse and extra damaging than having no quarterback.
That’s the concern the Texans have to begin contemplating with regards to Stroud.
Is he going to take the following step, get nearer to the elite tier and get the Texans nearer to the Tremendous Bowl? Or is he merely a very good however not fairly nice quarterback?
The Texans may do him some favors by surrounding him with a greater offensive line, working again and vast receivers. However Stroud additionally has to do extra. That’s what will make subsequent season so vital for him and the Texans as they resolve whether or not or to not put money into him with a long-term contract extension.
