C.J. Stroud Reaffirms Desire to Remain With Texans

With an ugly end to his third year onboard the Houston Texans, capped off with a third consecutive divisional round loss, this time with a four-interception outing against the New England Patriots to come up short in Foxboro 16-28, C.J. Stroud enters this NFL offseason in a fascinating situation.

The 2023 second-overall pick is now extension eligible for a new contract to follow up his rookie deal, as the team also has the choice to accept or decline his fifth-year option coming off quite possibly the worst performance of his pro career––completing under 50% of his passes against the Patriots, paired with four picks in the first half of action.

As to which direction the front office decides to turn regarding that fifth-year option or that extension remains to be seen, having just wrapped up their 2025 campaign, but when asking Stroud about his potential future with Houston, he's determined to bounce back from what transpired in New England, and to do it all while wearing a Texans uniform.

"Yeah, I mean, it's not in my control," Stroud said of an extension with the Texans. "I did what I did on the field the last three years, and I started off my career in a very great way. I'm 24, got a lot of ball left ahead of me, and I think I look back at my career, and I'm doing a lot of things that, early in my career, a lot of people haven't done a long time. So, like, I'm grateful for that. And I know it's not just me, it's my teammates, it's my coaches, it's the organization."

"Whatever God has for me... my job is done now in that light, I can only just move forward. But I want to be here as long as I can. I love the city of Houston. I'm crushed– and I don't want to be emotional– but just, like, how hopeful we were to go farther, and for it to be on my plate, for me not to step up, it really hurts me."

"I wish it didn't go that way. My intent was never that, and my intent is always to go out there and ball, and play as best as I can, and it didn't happen. But I know that I can do that. So I just hope... everybody gives me a shot to do it again."

C.J. Stroud Wants to Be in Houston as Extension Talks Loom

Torn up by the way things ended for both his third season and the Texans' resilient 2025 campaign entirely, Stroud is motivated to make the necessary strides to get back to the same heights again next year, but also to keep the momentum building in Houston for next season and onwards.

Jan 18, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws in the first quarter against the New England Patriots in an AFC Divisional Round game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

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Stroud's had some extremely high highs while wearing the blue and red. He had a historic rookie season that put him and this new DeMeco Ryans-led crew on the map back in 2023, kept the momentum flowing for the next two years to follow in order to give Houston's three-straight 10-plus win seasons and a playoff victory, while making his mark in the Texans’ franchise history books throughout.

However, his recent sample size now has a handful of dreary lows to factor in as well. It's now three consecutive divisional round losses for Stroud in the Texans, coming off his worst playoff performance yet, and throughout the past two seasons of production, he's still trying to reach those same year-one levels that had fans raving about his status as a future star quarterback in the first place.

From Stroud's perspective, his stance is wildly clear: he wants to earn the trust back of the Texans' faithful, and rid himself of those playoff demons that will now seemingly haunt him heading into next season. Yet, it'll be on his shoulders to reinvigorate that same confidence into the front office to ink his future in H-Town for the foreseeable future.

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