Texans' C.J. Stroud Trade Rumors May Be Overblown

When C.J. Stroud laid an egg against the New England Patriots in this year's postseason, the conversation surrounding the Houston Texans' quarterback situation was always bound to drag throughout the offseason.

Harsh criticism is one thing, but degrees of sheer overkill have sprung forward in the past few weeks. An increasing number of pundits have been suggesting the Texans should simply ship Stroud off and start over again.

NFL Draft expert Todd McShay recently laid out his own belief being that the climate is brewing that could see the Texans exploring the developing market for their young passer.

"There's gonna be some big name quarterbacks that are gonna be targeted," McShay said during his own 'Todd McShay Show', "C.J. Stroud's a name. Does he need a new scenery?"

The NFL is unquestionably a quarterback-driven league, so a notable market would inevitably emerge pretty quickly for Stroud if he were to become available.

Perhaps Stroud's impressive rookie year appears further in the rearview mirrors of Texans fans, but McShay feels that won't be the case for GMs and coaches who feel they can recreate the first-year magic

“Stroud hasn’t been the guy the last two years in Houston that he was in his rookie year,” McShay continued. “Some [teams] are looking at that and saying, can we get that rookie year out of Stroud here?”

Will the Texans Truly Consider a C.J. Stroud Trade?

McShay is on the money in this particular regard, because in essence, the Texans are also looking to reignite the flame with their signal caller and kick start his stagnating career development. So despite all the trade gossip which has been doing the rounds just recently, both Caserio and head coach DeMeco Ryans have indicated they're fully committed to sticking out the process.

In between the very public bouts of essentially propping Stroud up, the dilemma of deciding exactly what to do with his complex contract situation feels all-consuming and entirely pivotal. Letting another franchise make that decision for them would be a major roll of the front office dice for Caserio.