Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has fans concerned about his shoulder issues.
The young QB led the franchise to the AFC divisional round in 2024, where they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs. However, Stroud played the last few games of the season with discomfort in his shoulder, and although five months have passed, the situation does not seem to be improving.
An NFL insider compared Stroud’s injury to that of Dak Prescott in 2021.
Insider Draws Parallels Between C.J. Stroud’s Injury and Dak Prescott’s 2021 Health Issue
Stroud appeared to take a blow to his shoulder in the Texans’ Christmas game against the Baltimore Ravens. He played through the end of the season, but the issue appears to have escalated somewhat during the offseason.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Stroud is dealing with shoulder soreness and has stopped throwing during organized team activities as a result.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans has assured fans about the quarterback’s health, saying, “There’s no concerns with C.J. It’s just general soreness. We’re taking extra precaution with him, but he’ll be good to go. No concerns on my end there.”
DeMeco on CJ:
“First off, I know everybody is going to ask, CJ not throwing again, there’s no concerns with CJ. It’s just general soreness, taking extra precaution with him, but he’ll be good to goo, no concerns on my end.”
I ain’t Stressan, are ya’ll? pic.twitter.com/8fY0HheJvL
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) June 3, 2025
NFL insider Tom Pelissero discussed Stroud’s injury on Friday’s episode of “The Rich Eisen Show“ and found Stroud’s situation similar to what Prescott went through in 2021.
“I can remember other times, with Dak Prescott, when there was all kinds of questions and panic about Dak Prescott having limited reps to get another MRI, and it was like, ‘No, I kept being told he’s going to be fine. We’re just being cautious because he pushes himself too hard,” Pelissero explained. “And sure enough, Dak was good to go. That was a couple of years ago. It could well be the same thing with C.J. Stroud.”
Pelisssero also expressed confidence that the Texans QB will be back in action soon.
“I have not heard anything to make me believe that this is going to be something long-term. We’ve seen various reports saying it’s his shoulder,” Pelissero said. “We’ve seen various reports saying it’s his pec, it’s his shoulder.”
Pelissero added, “DeMeco Ryans went full NHL coach, you know, John Cooper just saying, it is general body soreness. Whatever it is, it’s enough for them not to have C.J. Stroud on the field at this time, doing anything in terms of throwing the football here. Let’s see as we get into training camp here, what the reps look like.”
Stroud is entering his third year in the NFL and will look to bounce back from his sophomore slump.
The Texans’ franchise player went from the longest streak of passes without an interception to a turnover machine in 2024. Stroud finished the regular season with 12 consecutive qualifying games without grading above a C on PFSN’s QB+ rating.