A report from the middle of August suggested that the Houston Texans and quarterback C.J. Stroud had discussed a potential contract extension but were “not close” to coming to an agreement at that time.
While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Texans general manager Nick Caserio revealed whether or not the two sides could continue talking about a deal after Houston opens the regular season with a matchup against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 13.
Texans reveal deadline for C.J. Stroud contract talks
“As it pertains to C.J. –– kind of similar to what I said during training camp. We’ve had productive discussions, I would say,” Caserio said, per Jared Koch of Sports Illustrated. “And the reality is, we’ll either get it figured out before the season starts, and if we don’t get it figured out before the season starts, then that’s something we address in the offseason. So, you know, whenever it happens, it happens.”
Per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN, “the Texans and Stroud’s camp have had negotiations, but nothing has been imminent toward an agreement.” Previously, the Texans picked up the fifth-year option for 2027 attached to Stroud’s contract after he threw five interceptions
and lost two of five fumbles over two January playoff games. Those outings, along with how the 2023 first-round draft pick seemingly regressed after he earned Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors, sparked concerns among the NFL community regarding what the signal-caller will be as a long-term QB1.
Could Texans, C.J. Stroud come to an agreement in the 11th hour?
Caserio’s comments could lead one to believe that Stroud will play on his current deal through the Texans’ final game of the 2026 season. That may not necessarily be the case, as Caserio seems willing to continue talking with Stroud’s camp.
It’s unclear what the Texans have thus far offered the 24-year-old. According to Aaron Wilson of Houston’s KPRC 2, “there is no astronomical $70M average per year asking price from [Stroud], per league sources, in his contract discussions with [the] team.”
“Every situation is gonna be different,” Caserio added. “I would say, once players get into the season, sometimes they want to focus on football and don’t want to worry about dealing with the contract. And, you know, maybe it’s not as clean as some others. So, we’ve done it both ways. We’ve done deals before training camp. We’ve done deals during training camp, and we’ve done deals during the season. So we’ll see how this goes. I mean, this is my sense. I could be wrong. I’m wrong a lot, so I kind of see how it goes, and keep working through it.”
