Texans Veteran Believes C.J. Stroud Will Surprise the League

C.J. Stroud enters a pivotal offseason headed into what will be his fourth year with the Houston Texans, taking on a season that might be his most important yet when it comes to defining his future with the franchise.

After flaming out in the postseason with four picks vs. the New England Patriots, the stock might be as low as its ever been surrounding Stroud headed into next season.

The wide range of talent and success had been on full display no less than three years ago for an Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, but now the consensus is up in the air as to whether or not the 2023 second-overall pick can be the Texans' signal caller of the future.

In the eyes of Texans veteran tackle Trent Brown, though, there's no question whether Stroud can put together a bounce-back campaign, as he highly praised his quarterback for next season on a recent podcast with Terron Armstead.

"I expect C.J. to get better," Brown said. "People be so quick to throw people away that they forget what you've done for them. The build up, you know what I mean? I expect C.J. to get better. I think C.J. is going to come in and be even more of a leader than he's been. I think his approach will be different."

"Me and C.J. had a discussion probably about a month and a half ago and talked about the season and what he could be better at. I think this offseason is a little different for him and I think he's going to surprise a lot of people. I think people think that he might be down in the dumps, or they might be down in the dumps on him, but I think he's going to surprise a lot of people."

Trent Brown Confident in C.J. Stroud for Next Season

Even while he might be coming off the biggest lowlight of his professional career, the confidence hasn't seemed to waver one bit within the building for Stroud. Not just for Trent Brown, but for virtually every top decision-maker in the Texans front office as well.

That bodes well for Stroud and his success headed into next season, as do the offensive improvements made throughout the offseason, including the addition of multiple new starters on the offensive line in Braden Smith and Wyatt Teller, along with David Montgomery coming on from the Houston Texans.

Jan 18, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) looks to throw in the second quarter agains the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Though while the belief is high, so are the expectations. And if there's any chance that Stroud doesn't deliver for a better year than his disappointing 2025, then come the big-picture questions of whether or not he's worthy of a new extension following the end of his rookie deal at the end of the 2027 season.

Now will be more important than ever for Stroud to prove he has the chops to be a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback. But in the meantime, he'll have the steady confidence of his teammates—both around him and for those blocking in front of him—that he has what it takes to put the pieces together.

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