Texans' C.J. Stroud talks Week 1 starter uncertainty

Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud isn't losing sleep over the fact that neither he nor 2021 third-round draft pick Davis Mills has yet been named the team's Week 1 starter. 

"I ain't tripping," Stroud said about the situation while speaking with reporters on Thursday, per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN. "Just do what's on my plate. I'm not worried about anybody else's plate. I gotta focus on what we got going on in this locker room. And just getting better every day. It's not about any of that stuff. It's about competing every day and just getting better. That's not my job. My job is to go out there and play. I got the fun stuff to do."

Mills made it known this past spring he wouldn't concede the starting gig to Stroud without a fight, but most have assumed it was a matter of when, not if, head coach DeMeco Ryans would name the second overall pick of this year's draft his QB1 for the regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 10. 

Per Fox Sports stats, Stroud thus far has completed 56.3% of his 16 preseason pass attempts for 73 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. To compare, Mills has thus far connected on 55.9% of 34 attempts for 193 yards with a touchdown and no picks. 

Stroud will start this coming Sunday's preseason finale at the New Orleans Saints. 

"They all have places they can go with their game that they haven't quite got to yet to be more efficient and just cleaner with the operation and with the footwork and some little things like that," Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik added about the two signal-callers. "We'll just keep grinding through that."

The Texans enter their bye after a Week 6 game against the Saints and, theoretically, could let Stroud sit and learn as a spectator until that break gives him a little extra time to prepare to start the Week 8 matchup at the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 29.