C.J. Stroud is going to get filthy rich. It is just a matter of when the Houston Texans finally decide to stop dragging their feet and write the check. Entering his fourth year under center, the former Offensive Rookie of the Year made it clear during voluntary OTAs that he believes he has done more than enough to warrant a massive contract extension. Still, he claims he is not losing sleep over it. He has people for that.
“I let my agent handle that,” Stroud muttered on Thursday. He knows his worth. “My job is football.” It is a classic line, but the subtext is clear: he expects to be compensated. Especially since the front office already took care of defensive end Will Anderson Jr. with a monstrous three-year, $150 million deal. That made Anderson the highest-paid non-quarterback in football. Meanwhile, Stroud, despite having his fifth-year option picked up after a lukewarm postseason, is still playing on his rookie discount for two more seasons.
The resume is solid. Mostly, anyway. Since going second overall in the draft, Stroud has racked up 28 regular-season victories, throwing for 10,876 yards, 62 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. He has dragged Houston to three playoff appearances. They won three wild-card games. But they always stall out right after. That is the rub.
This offseason was about rebuilding. Stroud bulked up, sheared his hair, and focused on the minutiae of the position. His teammates are buying in. Safety Jalen Pitre pointed out Stroud’s improved huddle command and post-snap decision-making over the last few days of practice. He looks sharper. He looks heavier.
But the ghost of his last postseason exit still lingers. That ugly, four-interception meltdown against the New England Patriots is hard to erase from memory. Stroud, however, claims he has already flushed it. “You got to learn to let failures go,” he said. Success, too. In the NFL, memory is a luxury you cannot afford.
