Houston Texans' Most Important Extension Candidate Is An Obvious One

Looking back on the Houston Texans' offseason, the front office did some considerable work to both sides of the ball to position this roster in an overall solid spot heading into their 2025 campaign.

However, when taking a look ahead to what the Texans' coming offseason could have in store, things could get especially tricky when looking at one critical situation at hand: C.J. Stroud's looming rookie extension.

After three years in the mix for Houston going on his fourth, the time is quickly approaching for the Texans and Stroud to get to the negotiation table on a new contract that can keep him in town for the long-haul, and while all signs point to the two sides to come to a long-term, lucrative agreement, it's a wildly important one to hammer out.

CBS Sports analyst Tyler Sullivan recently outlined each NFL team's most pressing upcoming contract extension to take note of for next offseason. And for the Texans, that verdict was simple: that title went to Stroud.

"Stroud will be eligible for an extension after the 2025 season and could reset the market," Sullivan wrote. "Currently, Dak Prescott is the league's highest-paid player, making an average of $60 million per season. Joe Burrow, Jordan Love, Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence are all behind him, knotted up in second with $55 million per season. Whether or not Stroud joins that group, meets Prescott or exceeds him, he's set to be the latest quarterback to cash in. Stroud has led Houston to back-to-back AFC South titles and two playoff wins during his tenure."

When the time comes for Stroud to put pen to paper on a new deal in Houston, that dollar figure will certainly be one that catches some major attention around the league, and perhaps even one that could end up as a record-breaking number when it's all set and done.

However, that's simply the state of the quarterback market. The Texans' franchise quarterback has proven more than capable of being the lead signal caller of this offense for the foreseeable future, but with that responsibility also comes a big check to be paid out by the Houston front office.

Don't expect anything less than that long-term agreement to be the end result for Stroud and the Texans, but one thing remains certain: whatever that final contract number is, it'll be a significant pay day.