One NFL insider is betting on common sense to prevail this offseason for the Houston Texans
“My guess is that CJ Stroud gets paid this offseason.” Let’s see what the Houston Texans do.
The Houston Texans have had a productive offseason.
Smack dab in the middle of a competitive window, the Texans are trying to lock in the right pieces of the puzzle long-term to ensure the window stays open indefinitely. That effort, for starters, saw Will Anderson made the first non-quarterback to get $50 million annual average on a contract extension. But all eyes in Houston are now set on the next contract extension to be worked on…quarterback CJ Stroud’s. At least one NFL insider seems to think something ultimately ends up getting done before the season starts.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter is betting common sense prevails between CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans
“My guess is (CJ Stroud) does (get paid). That’s my guess. They’ve been paying their players and if I had to guess and bet on the Texans and how they handle it, I would say that CJ Stroud gets paid this offseason. And I would say by the time the season begins, CJ Stroud has a new deal. That’s my guess, that’s my hunch, we’ll see if it plays out.”
— ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter
It kind of feels like the discourse around Stroud has jumped the shark this offseason after a poor showing in the 2025 postseason. Yes, Stroud played poorly. Yes, the Texans had a championship caliber defense. The end result was beyond disappointing. But he’s been a productive starter and a number of his efficiency metrics actually went up from 2024 to 2025.
The fine print will ultimately end up deciding if a potential extension is a good idea or a bad one. Stroud felt like he could ultimately become a contender for top-paid quarterback in the league some day after his rookie season. Those days are far gone after his past two seasons. But you’d be hard pressed to find a better successor overnight. He’s still just 24 years old, has three quality seasons as an NFL starter, and now must evolve his game to keep improving.
It makes whatever structure and the guaranteed money schedule tricky but important pieces of the puzzle on a deal. Schefter seems to think it ultimately won’t be too much of a hurdle to prevent a deal from getting done. And once it does, the ball will go back into Stroud’s court to flip the postseason script. First thing is first, though. Schefter’s guess needs to come to life.
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