![\"C.J.](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2254430922-e1770180354198.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
C.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans takes the field before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders.<\/p>\n
Quarterback C.J. Stroud<\/a> vowed to come back better next season after ending the 2025 campaign in the postseason, but also playing a significant part in the Houston Texans<\/a>\u2019 elimination in the Divisional Round.<\/p>\n He has already garnered attention for taking his first, largely symbolic, step toward that.<\/p>\n The underlying storyline is that Stroud is also entering into the final year of his rookie contract and is eligible to sign an extension this offseason.<\/p>\n C.J. Stroud Delivers Head-Turning Update GettyC.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans leaves the field after defeating the Indianapolis Colts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stroud spoke candidly about his struggles during the postseason. He called his 5 fumbles during the Texans\u2019 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> in the AFC Wild Card Round, and 4 interceptions in their loss to the New England Patriots<\/a> in the Divisional Playoffs, uncharacteristic.<\/p>\n His comments underscored the significance of Stroud\u2019s play ahead of this offseason transaction window.<\/p>\n Stroud\u2019s latest actions show the lengths he will go to make changes, hopefully, for the best.<\/p>\n \u201cHouston Texans QB C.J. Stroud will look a little different when he takes his helmet off next year\u2026Thanks to @HoustonWigQueen and Stroud\u2019s personal barber KaseKuttz,\u201d Brian \u201cBig Sarge\u201d Barfield reported<\/a> on X on February 3, sharing a reel of the QB getting his hair cut.<\/p>\n \u201cWatching hair you\u2019ve been growing for more than five years end up on the floor while you get tapered with a fade can be a big decision,\u201d The Houston Chronicle\u2019s Jonathan M.<\/a> Alexander wrote on Tuesday. \u201cAlthough the new haircut just started circulating publicly, Stroud actually sat down for the haircut not long after the Texans were eliminated from the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n Stroud\u2019s personal change comes as his situation with the Texans could make an even larger one.<\/p>\n C.J. Stroud\u2019s Future With Texans Under Scrutiny GettyC.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans leaves the field after defeating the Indianapolis Colts<\/p>\n Stroud admitted<\/a> the \u201churt\u201d he felt about not playing up to his own expectations postgame, but he remained crystal clear<\/a> about his desire to remain with the Texans in the days that followed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not in my control. I did what I did on the field the last three years, and I thought I started off my career in a very great way. I\u2019m 24, got a lot of ball left ahead of me. And I think I look at my career, and I\u2019m doing a lot of things early in my career that a lot of people haven\u2019t done in a long time. So, I\u2019m grateful for that,\u201d Stroud told reporters<\/a> in January.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be here as long as I can. I love the city of Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n The Texans have until May 1<\/a> to decide on picking up Stroud\u2019s fifth-year option. Given his position, that remains likely, despite his postseason struggles. It gets trickier from there. The franchise tag is a costly but viable alternative to an extension if the Texans remain uncertain.<\/p>\n Of course, the question at that point is whether the Texans, who had the No. 1 overall and second-ranked defense during the regular season, can afford to wait much longer.<\/p>\n Next season figures to be the most critical of Stroud\u2019s career, so long as an extension looms.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJosh Buckhalter<\/a> covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Texans\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty C.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans takes the field before a game against the Las Vegas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":728092,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2059],"tags":[2005,7,2004,392,2381,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-728091","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-indianapolis-colts","8":"tag-colts","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-indianapolis","11":"tag-indianapolis-colts","12":"tag-indianapoliscolts","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116010816768555662","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=728091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/728091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/728092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=728091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=728091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=728091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"C.J.](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MixCollage-01-Dec-2025-01-03-PM-3470-e1764615871957.jpg\")
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