The Houston Texans gave Will Anderson Jr. a three-year, $150 million extension recently, which is a huge deal. Almost immediately, the vibe around the team felt a teensy bit different. They are still trying to win, obviously. But now, it feels more like: What kind of team are they actually trying to be? Right now, it kind of sounds like defense first. This is interesting because not that long ago, everything was about C.J. Stroud.
Why Cam Heyward Believes the Texans Shouldn’t Overthink C.J. Stroud’s Future
When Stroud was drafted in 2023, it wasn’t slow at all. He was the second overall pick, and he just stepped in and made things work.
A division title and a big Wild Card win followed. He became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game, too, which… yeah, that’s not nothing.
Since then, it’s been balanced with three seasons and three playoff appearances. However, the production hasn’t fully clicked at the highest level yet.
They’ve been right there. Close. And then the Divisional Round happened last season, when their quarterback threw 4 interceptions in the first half.
Given the recent stumble and the statistical decline (a 76.2 PFSN QB Impact Score in 2025 from 81.9 in 2023), Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman and seven-time Pro Bowler Cameron Heyward was asked about his opinion on the Stroud situation by Rich Eisen.
“I’m just gonna say it, because it’s one thing to have a quarterback,” Heyward said. “It’s another thing to not and if you don’t have a quarterback in this league, you are going to be fighting uphill, and you’re going to be stuck in a state of uncertainty for years to come. Has C.J. played the best as of late? No, but I think you got to continue to just keep surrounding them. You got to continue to just keep building around them.
“And I think, to have so much success early, it’d be a shame to move off this quick. You know, he’s a guy that got the team to the playoffs. To put him on Tua’s level. I don’t think tua has done as much as C.J. has done in his time. So I would push back on trying to restart that whole thing.”
Nevertheless, paying Anderson that kind of money isn’t just about him. It does say something about where Houston’s leaning, even if they won’t spell it out. $50 million a year for a non-quarterback… that’s not small.
BE AN NFL GM: PFSN’s Ultimate GM Simulator
And yeah, when that happens before your quarterback gets his deal, people are going to read into it a bit. It doesn’t mean Stroud suddenly drops in importance or anything like that. More than the team isn’t in a rush here. They’re okay taking another year to see how things play out.
The Texans already picked up Stroud’s fifth-year option, meaning he’s locked in through 2027, so a lot of the talk around this makes it feel more urgent than it really is.
