No, the Houston Texans are not trading Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud. General manager Nick Caserio made it clear that he’d be the starting quarterback for the 2026 season.
How about after next season?
“Anything beyond that, I mean, that’s your world,” Caserio said. “You guys can speculate on that. But we’re not trading C.J. Stroud.”
Just because Caserio is non-committal to Stroud for now doesn’t mean the two sides can’t come together on a deal next offseason to make him the long-term option at the game’s most important position. In fact, given the boost of support to shut down all trade rumors, it’s clear that Caserio hopes to see the former No. 2 overall pick live up to the billing and earn the contract extension before his rookie deal is up.
Stroud, who won the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 after breaking NFL records, has been looking to get back to his Pro Bowl form over the past two seasons. After that dominant first year, regression set in in 2024 and a bit in other ways last fall, resulting in three straight divisional round losses under his watch.
Most Texans fans and media members gave Stroud a pass since the No. 1 defense served as an anchor of the team’s success amid back-to-back 10-win seasons and wild-card round wins, but everything reached a head when the Texans fell short in the postseason behind a four-interception day from Stroud, including a pick-six that secured a 28-16 win for New England.
Caserio, who enters a crucial crossroads in his tenure this offseason, said that the team still believes the best is yet to come with Stroud and he has the full support of everyone in the building, including head coach DeMeco Ryans.
“We have a lot of confidence in C.J., we have a lot of confidence in our players, and we’re glad he’s our quarterback,” Caserio said.
With the Texans, Stroud is 3-3 all-time in the postseason. He’s 28-18 in the regular season. He has completed 63.8 percent of his career passes for 10,876 yards, 62 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.
This past year, the team’s 12-wins, Stroud threw for 3,041 yards and 19 touchdowns while also tacking on a pair of rushing scores. He also completed a career-high 64.5% completion percentage and limited his interception total from 12 to 8.
“It’s moronic,” Caserio said when asked if the team would field trade offers. “Like we’re not trading the guy. He’s our quarterback. So, he’s gonna be playing quarterback for the Houston Texans in 2026.”
The next question turns to whether the Texans will pick up Stroud’s fifth-year option for 2027. In years past, Caserio has remained quiet on the situation with names like Derek Stingley Jr. and Kenyon Green.
Once again, he remained silent on both Stroud’s future and All-Pro defensive end Will Anderson Jr.’s.
“They’ve helped our program win a number of football games,” Caserio said. “So we’ll kind of take it one day at a time, try to piece the team together and do what we ultimately feel makes sense for the team and our organization.”
Everything right now is speculation following the 2026 season for the Texans and their starting quarterback. As for what fans know? Stroud is QB1 entering the offseason.
Beyond that? He’ll have to earn that talking point over the next eight months.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: C.J. Stroud is Texans QB1 for 2026, but what about for the future?
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
