Here’s everything Houston Texans Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud said following the second day of OTA practices, including the contract negotiations with the franchise, his offseason work habits and more.
Question: On thoughts on the new additions to the offensive line and with RB David Montgomery
C.J. Stroud: “Yeah, I’m excited to have the new guys. I’m grateful that we’re beefing up the offensive line. We’ve got some guys in here who’ve played a lot of meaningful ball and they want to compete and they want to help me and they want to help this offense. They want to help the Texans. So, I’m very excited to have them and I think we’re trending up, we’re getting better and we’re attacking a lot of the things that we need to. Those guys are doing nothing but just adding to it.”
Q: On his approach to the this new offense and going into his fourth year
Stroud: “As with anything in life, you grow as you continue to do it. So, going into my fourth year, I’ve been playing football my whole life, so every year I get better at something, every year I learn something. So it’s been a joy. I really do enjoy what I do, I love what I do. I think I’ve learned every single year, every offseason, every season, something new and something that I can take not only just for the next season, but also for life.”
Q: On how he has been able to incorporate Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley’s scheme this offseason
Stroud: “I watched a lot of our self-scout to try to fix some things, try to introduce some things that I’m used to that I’ve done in my past that I like to do so we can do that a little more. I think we’re both growing, we’re creating a better relationship and growing as an offense and just trying to make it the offense for the 2026-2027 Texans and doing things that everybody is good at and doing things that we’ve done in the past. So, we’re growing in that area.”
Q: On what he has learned from last year that he is taking into this season that is different
Stroud: “I don’t think things are different, you just grow and evolve. I learn a lot that I can’t give you like specifics, but I would prefer to keep those things to myself. I just grow as a man, grow as a man of God, grow as a teammate, as a leader, as a son, as a brother, just every single aspect of my life I try to learn and grow and never try to think that I’ve arrived or that I’ve just failed enough to where I can’t get back up. So, it’s just things I try to get better at.”
Q: On if there are things he committed to this offseason to get to where he is right now and the progress he has made
Stroud: “Just being me. I didn’t really switch anything crazy. I just kind of got back home, got to work, and just stayed around my tribe and my village. I just focused on my family, my friends, and just getting myself away from football for a while and picked it back up and started to work hard. So, I think every year, every offseason, I kind of attack it better. Just because when you’re young, you really don’t know better. You don’t really get an offseason in college, so you get to the NFL you have to learn every year what’s for you.”
Q: On how he has gone about letting his performance from his last game the season before fuel what he’s been able to put in this offseason
Stroud: “I think I’m a motivated person, regardless of how we ended or how I did. Of course, that definitely helps, but I really learned in my life that you got to learn to let failures go, let successes go just as quick as you would do a win. You got to learn from it and move on, so that’s what I did.”
QL On if he agrees with Head Coach DeMeco Ryans that this offense is light years ahead of where they were last year and how much of a difference it will make this year
Stroud: “Yeah, I think anything going into year two of a system you learn more, you can operate better, you know how to coach guys up. I think we’ve taken a huge step from where we were last year to where we are now. Even at practice we’re competing and we got guys who want to play ball, who want to do the right things, who have been here all OTA’s. I think the culture is starting to pick up on offense, we’re getting it together.”
Q: On his new haircut and thoughts on the reactions
Stroud: “I honestly didn’t see the reactions. I was told that people thought I was, like, depressed or that I wasn’t doing okay. But I’ve been thinking about cutting my hair for a long time and I was actually going to do it months prior, but I just didn’t know how my helmet was going to fit, so nothing really too serious. I’m kind of used to this haircut, it’s how I grew up, the dreads were kind of a new thing. I hate how everything in my life is so public and people just have narratives, but it’s the life I’ve chosen to live, so it’s all good. But, yeah, I like my haircut.”
Q: On reactions from others on his haircut
Stroud: “The team, people who’ve met me in the recent, like, three to four years they’re like, ‘Dang, you look different’, but my brothers, my sisters, my mom, my dad, my close friends from home, they’re all like, ‘Oh, it looks like you’. Everybody says I look younger, so I hope that’s true. I try to grow a beard, it’s a little scruffy, but I’m getting it right.”
Q: On how much of a challenge his contract has been and if it is easy to just put that to the side
Stroud: “I mean, I let my agent handle it. If it’s time to do it, then it is. My job is football, that’s what I focus on is just getting better. I think I’ve held my bargain up on that end, so whatever happens, happens. I’m excited to be a Texan this year and go from there.”
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans QB C.J. Stroud said at the start of OTA practices
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
