After losing in embarrassing fashion to the New England Patriots in the playoffs, the Houston Texans are entering an interesting offseason. The Texans want to remain a contender, but QB C.J. Stroud had a disappointing playoff run, which could have opened the door to a trade.
What Does a Former NFL QB Say About the Future of C.J. Stroud and the Texans?
Since his rookie year, Stroud has regressed, and it has hurt the team’s Super Bowl hopes. Back in 2023, Stroud was not just the best rookie in the NFL, but also one of the top QBs that season. Looking at PFSN’s QB Impact Metric, Stroud ranked 5th overall in 2023. Since then, he ranked 33rd in 2024 and 19th in 2025.
Although he played a bit better this season, Stroud regressed back to that 2024 version when the playoffs hit. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round, Stroud had 5 fumbles and 1 interception, while against the Patriots, he had 4 interceptions.
Instead of being a reason the Texans could either stay in games or win them, Stroud was playing losing football. Now that this has happened two years in a row, questions are arising about his future with the Texans, especially as a contract extension nears.
One former NFL QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick, spoke on the contract situation.
“I just think that the people in that building that are around him every day, C.J. Stroud, theyre the ones that are going to have to make a decision on this guy. Is this the guy we want leading our building? Who knows what C.J. Stroud does? I mean, if they don’t give him the contract, is he gonna sit and wait, and say, ‘guys, I’m not showing up until you pay me.’ Because that’s probably the advice his agent is going to give him.”
“I think there’s a chance maybe you trade [C.J. Stroud] this offseason.”
Should the Texans trade CJ Stroud or pay him $60 million per year? Ryan Fitzpatrick weighs in.@ro_tel @cheesyvelveeta pic.twitter.com/7oqYQwsXhc
— Fitz & Whit (@fitzandwhit) January 21, 2026
Fitzpatrick also talked about a potential trade if things sour around the contract and if the Texans have doubts:
“I just think that this is one to keep an eye on because I think it could get ugly this offseason. But if you have hesitations about C.J. being the face of your franchise, this is me, not knowing anything, I think there’s a chance maybe you trade him this offseason”.
When Fitzpatrick says he doesn’t know anything, he means NFL insider information, but what he says comes from his 17 years in the league. As he said, if the Texans do have doubts about Stroud, especially after this year’s playoffs, a trade may be a better option than a contract extension.
