Texans Enter NFL Offseason Facing Tough Contract Decisions

Now that the NFL season has finally concluded, the bitter taste in the mouth for the Houston Texans just got far worse. Just how outmatched the New England Patriots looked for most of Sunday's Super Bowl contest against the Seattle Seahawks was probably enough to drive Texans fans to the brink of insanity.

Furthermore, it will have made head coach DeMeco Ryans undoubtedly believe his team just threw away the opportunity of a lifetime to go to the show.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated wasted no time in waking up the Texans front office to the stark contractual decisions which are pending over this pivotal offseason.

According to Breer, one of the top priorities at hand for Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio is bound to be the tricky juggling act of what to do with quarterback C.J. Stroud.

imply pivoting toward maintaining control of Stroud's services may not be an easy decision to smooth out with the player, nor his reps, but Breer still feels it might be a holding pattern the Texans adopt regardless.

"The team can exercise the fifth-year option on Stroud’s rookie contract between now and the middle of May, which would lock Stroud in with the Texans at a fully guaranteed $26.5 million for 2027, and I’d expect they will. It’s a more than reasonable rate for a starting quarterback in the current economic environment," Breer wrote.

"However, extension talks will be interesting. After what Josh Allen and Dak Prescott received in 2025, a top-shelf quarterback deal going forward will be $60 million-plus, and it might be tough to get Stroud and his camp to take less than that. I’d also expect the team to move aggressively to lock down Will Anderson Jr., like they did Derek Stingley Jr. last year, which could create some awkwardness."

C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson Contract Talks Loom Large

Caserio dutifully chowing down on the complex negotiations with Stroud and stud edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. will require some real care and attention because big egos are almost guaranteed to be in play.

As Breer astutely pointed out, an inescapable precedent has already been set when Caserio handed a lucrative contract extension out to his elite cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.; the extremely talented defense will need to be kept together.

Anderson might quite rightly be currently viewed by the Texans as the organizational crown jewel, and one which they simply can't live without, all of which is particularly unusual in this traditionally quarterback-driven league.