C.J. Stroud gets bad contract news ahead of Texans' training camp

The Houston Texans have one of the strongest — if not the strongest —defenses in the National Football League.

DeMeco Ryans' team maximized every asset it got in the Deshaun Watson trade to build a solid roster on both sides of the field. However, subpar quarterback play has seemingly held it back over the past couple of years.

That's why C.J. Stroud's contract extension may not be a sure thing. According to NFL insider Jason La Canfora, the word around the league is that the Texans are in no rush to give him a new contract.

The Texans may not extend C.J. Stroud this season

“We doubt they are in any rush to extend QB CJ Stroud. 'He’s playing out this year and maybe the fifth-year option (in 2027) for me,' the personnel exec said, after Stroud’s play declined the past two years after a shocking rookie year," wrote La Canfora.

Stroud took the league by storm in 2023 as the No. 2 pick out of Ohio State, but he has looked like a one-year wonder since. The offense was virtually the same —  if not better — when his backup, Davis Mills, was forced into action due to an injury, raising even more questions about his future as the face of the franchise.

Of course, Stroud is still young and should be more than motivated to prove the doubters wrong. But after showing little to no progress since his rookie season, the Texans might be doing the right thing by taking a cautious approach to this situation.

The quarterback market has gone nuclear, and we've seen very good teams implode after tying themselves to big-money quarterbacks who can't live up to their contracts.