The Houston Texans suffered a disappointing end to the 2025 season. The team was knocked out in the Divisional Round of the playoffs for the third year in a row, and quarterback C.J. Stroud received criticism for his lackluster performance.
As a result of Stroud’s struggles, at least one NFL executive believes the Texans could be preparing to make a big change at quarterback.
NFL Executive Believes Texans Will Draft New Quarterback
Stroud’s best season was his rookie year, back in 2023. In that season, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and looked like a future star. The quarterback earned his first and only Pro Bowl bid, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and even received some MVP votes.
However, Stroud has been unable to replicate that level of production since. In 2025, Stroud threw for the fewest yards and touchdowns of his career. With the quarterback seemingly regressing and the team having little postseason success, some are beginning to wonder if the Stroud era could be coming to a close.
The Athletic’s Mike Sando spoke with some anonymous NFL executives about a variety of topics, including Stroud. One exec believes Texans general manager Nick Caserio is going year-to-year with the quarterback situation and is in no rush to extend Stroud.
“I think (GM Nick) Caserio is going to let it go year to year,” one exec said, per Sando. “He very well may be inclined to draft another guy. It could be another year of Davis Mills (as the backup), and then Caserio drafts another quarterback.”
Sando also revealed that Davis Mills is highly thought of around the league. “Another exec said he liked Mills as much as he liked Stroud, whom Caserio and ownership have backed this offseason,” wrote Sando.
There were rumors that teams were interested in trading for Mills, but the Texans rebuffed those offers. Mills will be a free agent after the 2026 season, while Stroud will play on the fifth-year option in 2027 before hitting free agency in 2028, assuming an extension isn’t reached.
Will the Texans Commit to C.J. Stroud Long-Term?
Stroud is under contract through at least 2027, so the team doesn’t have to find a solution immediately. The 2026 draft class isn’t considered to be especially strong at quarterback, so Caserio could be forced to wait until next offseason to make a move.
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In 2025, Stroud finished with 3,041 yards with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. However, the quarterback had one of his worst playoff games against the New England Patriots. In that matchup, Stroud completed just 20 of his 47 pass attempts for 212 yards and 4 interceptions.
PFSN’s QB Impact Metric gave Stroud a 76.2 impact score for his 2025 performance, which ranked 19th out of 48 qualified passers. However, with another Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2026, Stroud could be right back in the team’s good graces.
