I work throughout the day as a teacher. Officially, I am a special education teacher, but I spend the vast majority of my time in English classrooms. If there is one axiom that has been drilled into us over the years (28 for me) it is that if one student has a question then a lot more have the same question and are afraid or too timid to ask. I had one commenter ask a question that should be the number one question for any Texan fan. If C.J. Stroud is not the answer at quarterback then who is?

Before I get there, I should note my personal view of Stroud as we speak. I believe that you cannot give him a hefty extension now under any circumstances. You should never give a player a huge extension if you aren’t sure if they are the guy at that position. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to jettison Stroud. You don’t have to make the call on extending him now. You can exercise the fifth year option and effectively kick the can down the road another year. Maybe he shows you something in year four that makes you more comfortable with extending him.

All that being said, there is a point of view that says if you don’t think he is the guy now then he probably never will be the guy. I’m not necessarily advocating that, but if we follow that thought experiment to its logical conclusion then that would assume Stroud is dealt for either another quarterback option or draft capital. So, what are the reasonable options at that point.

Kyler Murray: 67.1 completion percentage, 6.86 adjusted yards per attempt, 4.1 TD%, 2.0 INT%, 92.2 rating, 32 rushing touchdowns

This would almost certainly involve trading Stroud to the Cardinals. Obviously, the Cardinals have given up on Murray and given that he has a contract connected to him, Stroud would be worth more than Murray. So, I’m guessing that additional compensation would be coming from the Cardinals. It would be impossible to say how much. The Rams traded two firsts along with Jared Goff to get Matthew Stafford. There is no way in hell that Stroud is worth two firsts AND another quarterback. Could he be worth an additional second or third round pick? I suppose anything is possible.

Pros: Murray has better numbers than Stroud and is a lot more athletic. He is already under contract. I am not a capologist, so I am not going to be speculate as to how much the Texans would be responsible. Officially, the cash for 2026 is 42 million, but that comes with a base salary just under 23 million. Obviously, the Cards will be on the hook for some of that. Athletically, there is probably no one better in the league outside of Lamar Jackson. So, obviously, if you feel like he could fit into the Caley system then he could give you some things that Stroud cannot.

Cons: Saying that Murray has missed time would be a gross understatement. The Cardinals finally gave up on waiting for him to be healthy. There are numerous scouts and executives that think he is too small to make it as a quarterback. He also had most of his success in a glorified college system. So, there is no obvious system fit. He might be a financial fit, but he may not be a positional fit.

Mac Jones: 66.5 completion percentage, 6.36 adjusted yards per completion, 3.6 TD%, 2.7 INT%, 86.9 rating

Jones has more or less rehabilitated himself in San Francisco. We have seen other quarterbacks do the same with Sam Darnold being the most obvious of those. He is slated to make about four million dollars next season. The Texans wouldn’t be the only ones in line for him, but they may have the most attractive opportunity for him and his career.

Pros: Jones put up much better numbers in the Shanahan system than he did in New England. That includes turnovers as he had a 2.1 interception percentage. I should note that Stroud has a very similar record the last two seasons. If we assume that last year is the real Jones then he could easily be just as good as Stroud right now. He might even be a better fit for Caley offense when all is said and done.

Cons: 2026 is the last year of his contract, so he would be a pure rental. Obviously, if he balls out then you would have the exact same issue that you would have with Stroud if he balls out. Like Stroud, he is limited physically, so you would have to work harder to protect him. That means invested more draft capital in the offensive line and possibly sign a free agent. Obviously, we don’t know what draft capital would come back for Stroud and how much would go out for Jones.

Malik Willis: 67.7 completion percentage, 8.43 adjusted yards per attempt, 3.9 TD%, 1.9 INT%, 98.9 rating, 4 rushing TD

Obviously, there is no telling how much money and how long a contract would be for Willis. His playing time has been more limited, so you would be buying on spec. At best, he could be a Lamar Jackson type of quarterback. At worst, he would be very limited offensively. He might be the most sought after free agent quarterback on the list, but I doubt there would be a more attractive location than Houston.

Pros: As a free agent, you can structure the contract any way you want. It could be a short-term prove it deal or a long-term contract with a relatively low AAV as compared to the monster contracts that the big boys get. If he ends up being a Lamar Jackson clone you will have won the lottery. Who knows what his running ability would do to the offense, but at the very worst he would be able to make more plays when the protection goes sideways.

Cons: Most scouts question his throwing ability and accuracy. The numbers say something different, but he might not be capable of making the throws that Stroud was able to make when he was at his best. So, some offensive adjustments would need to be made.

Marcus Mariota: 62.8 completion percentage, 7.21 adjusted yards per attempt, 4.5 TD%, 2.6 INT%, 89.7 rating, 19 rushing TDs

Mariota has had a bit of a renaissance of sorts in Washington running the same system that Kyler Murray ran in Arizona. This is a less than appealing option long-term, but he would likely come cheaper than Willis and would be a much more short-term option.

Pros: Since Mariota is obviously athletic, he would be a more appealing starting option than Davis Mills. However, he has better career numbers than Mills even though many see him as a failed quarterback. Obviously, if you have a system that does not expect its quarterback to do as much then he could be a very reasonable option until you are able to get your long-term answer.

Cons: When you have two backup quarterbacks then you have no starting quarterbacks. It would be very fair to question whether such a move would be a step backwards at a time when you can ill afford to take a step backwards.

The best bet out of this group is probably Mac Jones. All roster moves of this type are a gamble. What we have seen in recent years is that some first round quarterbacks have been able to restart their careers elsewhere. I think that is a much more reasonable gamble than any of the others and Jones might very well be more suited for a Nick Caley system than C.J. Stroud.