The Houston Texans have a big offseason ahead of them in 2026. Not only does the franchise want to find ways to improve and get over the hump of the Divisional round of the postseason, but the organization also has to avoid messy contract situations with players currently on the team. The 2026 offseason is the time when most picks from the 2023 NFL Draft become eligible for extensions, and that is what Houston is dealing with when it comes to C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr.
Both Stroud and Anderson were picked in the top three of the 2023 NFL Draft, and now the Texans are going to have to pay up. As first-round selections, both players are under contract for the 2026 season already, and the organization has the opportunity to pick up both players’ fifth-year option for the 2027 season. Houston has set a trend of giving out extension prior to the fifth-year option, which is what the organization did with Derek Stingley Jr.
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Anderson’s situation is a bit more cut-and-dry. He has been one of the best defenders in the league since joining the Texans, and he has seemed to improve each and every season. He deserves to be one of the top-paid edge rushers in the NFL, and that is what fans should expect when he eventually lands his extension. The highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL right now is Micah Parson of the Green Bay Packers, and he signed a four-year, $186 million deal that pays him an average of $46.5 million per season.
Anderson will be somewhere in that range; it is just a question of whether or not he completely resets the market. Dan Graziano of ESPN predicted what an extension might look like for Anderson, and the analyst has the defender coming in third among edge rushers. Graziano expects a four-year deal worth $176 million, averaging $44 million per season.
Stroud’s contract is a little harder to predict, given how the young quarterback has regressed over the last two years. It would be a large gamble, making him one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL. Graziano predicted a four-year deal worth $224 million with $110 million guaranteed at signing. This would give the quarterback roughly $56 million per season, putting him in the same class as Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Dak Prescott, and Jordan Love.
Anderson is a sure-fire extension candidate, while the organization should be more hesitant with Stroud. It might be smarter to just pick up his fifth-year option to keep him under contract through 2027. This would give the franchise the entire 2026 season to evaluate the quarterback and his value.