C.J. Stroud

Player News

• Texans' C.J. Stroud: Shedding weight

  28D ago • By RotoWire

  Stroud improved his diet this offseason in an effort to lose weight, according to DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com. Stroud shouldn't lack for motivation, coming off a 2025 campaign in which he and his offensive line were the weak links on an otherwise loaded team. The Texans then picked up his fifth-year option this offseason, though it's not equivalent to a huge vote of confidence when the price tag ($25.9 million) is lower than what it costs to re-sign even a mediocre starting QB. There's still hope in Houston that Stroud can be more than mediocre, with help from a remade offensive line that added first-round pick Keylan Rutledge and veterans Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller and Evan Brown. The combination of better blocking and a locked-in QB could do wonders for Houston's offense, but even a slimmed-down version of Stroud is unlikely to offer much in the way of rushing stats for his fantasy managers.

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• Texans' C.J. Stroud: Fifth-year option picked up

  04/08/2026 • By RotoWire

  The Texans have exercised the fifth-year option of Stroud's rookie contract Wednesday, Field Yates of ESPN reports. Stroud thus remains under contract through 2027, though his fifth-year option being picked up doesn't necessarily preclude Houston from inking the 24-year-old quarterback to an extension. Trade rumors surrounded Stroud early in the offseason, but GM Nick Caserio doubled down on the team's long-term commitments to the 2023 first-round pick during the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine and the league's annual owners meetings. Across 14 regular-season appearances in 2025, Stroud threw for 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions, the lowest TD and yardage totals of his career to date. The case for Stroud to rebound for fantasy purposes next year relies on projecting wideouts Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel to take a step forward in Year 2 alongside No. 1 WR Nico Collins, and potentially also for Tank Dell (knee) to resume producing after missing all of 2025. The Texans also have Xavier Hutchinson, Justin Watson and TE Dalton Schultz (calf) rounding out the receiving corps.

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• Texans' C.J. Stroud: Overcomes early mistakes to advance

  01/13/2026 • By RotoWire

  Stroud completed 21 of 32 pass attempts for 250 yards, one touchdown and one interception while recording a pair of lost fumbles in Monday's 30-6 wild-card win over the Steelers. Stroud struggled with ball security against Pittsburgh after losing possession of two of his four fumbles in the first half of Houston's wild-card matchup. The Ohio State product tacked on an interception in the third quarter and another fumble that he recovered on the fourth quarter, but the Steelers were only able to generate three points off of the signal-caller's three turnovers Monday. Stroud would settle down behind a dominant performance from his defense (including two defensive TDs) and comfortably guide the Texans to victory in the second half. The 23-year-old will have to clean up those mistakes in the divisional round in order to put his team in position to advance past the Patriots on Sunday.

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• Texans' C.J. Stroud: Delivers two TDs in Week 18 win

  01/05/2026 • By RotoWire

  Stroud completed 14 of 23 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 38-30 win over the Colts. He added five rushing yards and a TD on two carries. With the Texans coming into Sunday with a chance to win the AFC South, Stroud got the start and connected with Jayden Higgins on an 11-yard score before running in a two-yard TD himself, both in the second quarter. With the out-of-town scoreboard not cooperating and the Jaguars winning big, however, Stroud gave way to Davis Mills in the second half. Stroud wraps up the regular season with a career-high 64.5 percent completion rate, along with 3,041 passing yards and a 19:8 TD:INT in 14 games, and he'll be under center in the wild-card round when Houston hits the road to take on the winner of Sunday night's Baltimore-Pittsburgh clash to decide the AFC North.

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• Texans' C.J. Stroud: Plays role of game manager Sunday

  12/22/2025 • By RotoWire

  Stroud completed 23 of 35 pass attempts for 187 yards and a touchdown while gaining no yards on four rush attempts in Sunday's 23-21 victory over Las Vegas. Stroud failed to follow up last week's three-score outing with a more modest fantasy performance in Week 16. The 23-year-old returned to his game-manager style of play in which he protected the football and did just enough on offense to secure victory for Houston. The Ohio State product's modest totals resulted in him failing to extend his streak of throwing for 200 or more yards to four games. Stroud's low ceiling in fantasy makes him a middling option for Week 17 in a road matchup against the Chargers.

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