DeMeco Ryans Clears Up C.J. Stroud's Status for Texans-Jaguars

The Houston Texans will be without their star quarterback for Week 10's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

According to DeMeco Ryans at his weekly presser, C.J. Stroud has been labeled out for this weekend against the Jaguars due to a concussion.

"For where we are right now in the concussion protocol, I do not see C.J. [Stroud] playing this week," Ryans said. "C.J. Stroud will be out this week."

#Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said he doesn’t see CJ Stroud playing this week.

Later said “CJ will be out.” pic.twitter.com/QJijUS9WYL
— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) November 5, 2025

With Stroud deemed out, it places Davis Mills in line to start his first game of the season for the Texans, while rookie Graham Mertz will fill in as the backup.

Texans, DeMeco Ryans Rule Out C.J. Stroud vs. Jaguars

Sep 21, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | Travis Register-Imagn Images

Stroud suffered a concussion in the middle of the second quarter last weekend against the Denver Broncos, which inevitably took him out of the contest early to place Mills in and finish the rest of the way.

Before going down with his injury, Stroud completed 6-10 passes for 79 yards. Mills came in to complete 17-30 passes for 137 with no touchdowns or picks, leading to their 15-18 loss against the Broncos.

Now at a 3-5 record looking to make the climb up the standings in the second half of the season, Mills will come in to start during a critical game for the Texans, facing their division rival Jacksonville Jaguars for the second time this season, hoping to avoid the season sweep after Week 3's loss.

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Mills, in his time with the Texans, has maintained as a steady backup signal caller, starting in 26 career games to throw for a 62.3% completion rate, 6,327 career yards, 35 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions.

Based on his comments at his presser, Ryans is clearly confident in what Ryans brings to the table, especially for what he provides as a smart, "sharp" player.

"Davis [Mills] is a super smart guy. Sharp guy," Ryans said ahead of Houston's matchup vs. Jacksonville. "Just seeing how he operates in the huddle, and then, just seeing how he can fix things when we're not all the way right when guys are coming out of the huddle. They have questions, Davis gets it fixed very quickly, articulates it very well in the huddle, and now it's about post-snap."

"Can we make the proper reads? Can we get to the right spot with the football, and can we just execute? Davis doesn't have to do too much. We just all have to do our job, nobody has to step up, do anything different, everybody just has to execute and do what they're here for, and that's go out there and play football, and that's all we're expecting him to do this Sunday."

For Mills, he'll have at least one game at the helm for Houston, as Stroud remains on the waiting list for his next opportunity to get on the field, which lies in Week 11 against the Tennessee Titans on the road.

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