Nothing says “football is back” like the issuance of Sunday Splash! reports on a Saturday.
Per ESPN, the Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud won’t get a deal done before the start of the season. Which means they’ll now wait until after the season ends to assess the situation.
The notion that there won’t be an in-season deal was already known. G.M. Nick Caserio recently said so.
The idea that there won’t be a deal before Week 1 wasn’t etched in stone, but the handwriting was written on the wall in permanent marker.
Would the Texans sign Stroud to a deal based on his performances to date? Yes. Would Stroud accept it? No.
Houston’s preferred range likely won’t get any lower based on 2026. A strong year from Stroud could push it much higher.
Even after the coming season, there may be no reason for the Texans to rush it. Stroud remains under contract through 2027. They’d be negotiating against themselves, like the Dolphins did when they gave Tua Tagovailoa what turned out to be a disastrous the-market-is-the-market deal in 2024.
Actually, the Texans could let it ride for two more years, with the franchise tag in their back pockets in the event Stroud suddenly reaches a higher level of performance.
If he was already there, the Texans wouldn’t hesitate to pay him. They did it after three seasons with cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. They did it after three seasons with linebacker Will Anderson.
They would have done it with Stroud, too. But only at the number that properly reflects his spot in a range that now extends from $20 million per year to $64 million annually.
The Texans remain committed to Stroud. They didn’t bench him at halftime of a disastrous divisional-round game against the Patriots, even though they arguably should have. They want him to become a player who forces the Texans to pay him big money.
For now, Stroud has to go out and show that he deserves it.
