4<\/p>\n Stroud will be subject to trade interest in 2026Credit: Getty<\/p>\n He threw for 3,041 yards and 19 touchdowns, which ranked him 19th and 21st amongst NFL<\/a> signal-callers.<\/p>\n Those numbers are low, compared to his standout debut season — 4,108 yards and 23 TDs — which saw him named Offensive Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n Stroud’s drop off has been alarming for some, and the timing isn’t ideal, given he’s extension-eligible for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n Rumors that he could sign a mega-deal with the Texans<\/a> have been swirling for some time, and earlier this month, ESPN’s Dan Graziano predicted the 24-year-old signal caller could ink a four-year deal worth $224 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n READ MORE NFL<\/p>\n His future, though, could lie away from Houston.<\/p>\n C.J. Stroud becomes shock trade target<\/p>\n NFL draft analyst Todd McShay noted on Monday that he expects plenty of quarterbacks, such Stroud, to be targeted in trades across the league.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m told, don\u2019t be surprised if in the next couple of weeks there are some big-name quarterbacks that are going to be targeted,\u201d McShay said.<\/p>\n “C.J. Stroud is one of them\u2026 does he need a change of scenery? Be prepared for that.<\/p>\n “Stroud hasn\u2019t been the guy the last two years in Houston that he was in his rookie year.<\/p>\n “Some (teams) are looking at that and saying, ‘can we get that rookie year out of Stroud here?'”<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Stroud struggled in 2025 at the Texans might be hesitant to pay himCredit: GettyWhat has sparked trade buzz around C.J. Stroud?<\/p>\n Just 12 months ago, Stroud was undoubtedly the franchise guy in Houston.<\/p>\n But he struggled in 2025<\/a>, and the Texans were powered to the divisional round of the playoffs thanks to their NFL-leading defense.<\/p>\n On that side of the ball, star defensive end Will Anderson Jr. will also soon be seeking<\/a> a mega-money contract.<\/p>\n The Texans, then, might be hesitant to pay Stroud the kind of money that has already been floated.<\/p>\n Other teams, perhaps, could swoop in with a big offer to tempt him away from the Texans.<\/p>\n Trade buzz around Stroud has been building for some time, too.<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n A number of NFL teams have QB needs and could offer Stroud a dealCredit: Getty<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Sports Illustrated insider Albert Breer hinted at a possible trade, and noted the quarterback’s situation was ‘fascinating’.<\/p>\n “The team can exercise the fifth-year option on Stroud\u2019s rookie contract between now and the middle of May, which would lock Stroud in with the Texans at a fully guaranteed $26.5 million for 2027, and I\u2019d expect they will,” he wrote.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a more than reasonable rate for a starting quarterback in the current economic environment.<\/p>\n “However, extension talks will be interesting. After what Josh Allen<\/a> and Dak Prescott<\/a> received in 2025, a top-shelf quarterback deal going forward will be $60 million-plus, and it might be tough to get Stroud and his camp to take less than that.<\/p>\n NFL’s Greatest……<\/p>\n Ranking the top 10……<\/p>\n “I\u2019d also expect the team to move aggressively to lock down Will Anderson Jr., like they did Derek Stingley Jr. last year, which could create some awkwardness.<\/p>\n “If Stroud\u2019s contract negotiations get sticky, or the Texans prefer to punt them to next year — while rewarding Anderson — will there be friction? Could that impact the Texans\u2019 offseason?<\/p>\n “Might someone swoop in to see if they could pry the wildly talented 24-year-old away?<\/p>\n “These are questions other teams have certainly asked, as Stroud\u2019s gone through his ups and downs.”<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Houston could make extending defensive star Anderson a priority in 2026Credit: Getty<\/p>\n Breer’s piece ended with him urging fans to ‘stay tuned’ on the quarterback’s situation.<\/p>\n Read More on talkSPORT<\/p>\n While the Texans are still in a strong position, and Stroud has shown no signs of frustration in Houston, he could be a name to watch as the new NFL year approaches.<\/p>\n Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page<\/a> and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel<\/a> for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"C.J. Stroud is coming off a rough season, but he’s still in demand. The Houston Texans quarterback struggled…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":758202,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2056],"tags":[22744,265,1028,108381,1222,102253,108374,108379,108375,108373,6047,23054,7,221,253,2368,6,4910,835,96989,7828,24575,13113,108378,505,222,108380,26087,108376,89765,26088,6051,108377],"class_list":{"0":"post-758201","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-texans","8":"tag-2026-nfl-season","9":"tag-american-football","10":"tag-c-j-stroud","11":"tag-c-j-stroud-trade","12":"tag-cj-stroud","13":"tag-cj-stroud-contract","14":"tag-cj-stroud-extension","15":"tag-cj-stroud-quarterbacks","16":"tag-cj-stroud-texans","17":"tag-cj-stroud-trade","18":"tag-danielle-hunter","19":"tag-espn-nfl","20":"tag-football","21":"tag-houston","22":"tag-houston-texans","23":"tag-houstontexans","24":"tag-nfl","25":"tag-nfl-free-agents","26":"tag-nfl-news","27":"tag-nfl-news-and-rumors","28":"tag-nfl-offseason","29":"tag-nfl-quarterbacks","30":"tag-nfl-trades","31":"tag-stroud-nfl","32":"tag-super-bowl","33":"tag-texans","34":"tag-texans-depth","35":"tag-texans-news","36":"tag-texans-news-and-rumors","37":"tag-texans-nfl","38":"tag-texans-stadium","39":"tag-will-anderson-jr","40":"tag-will-anderson-texans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758201","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=758201"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/758201\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/758202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=758201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=758201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=758201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"C.J.](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/c-j-stroud-7-houston-1059891583.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"C.J.](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/28-16-loss-new-england-1059891478.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"C.J.](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/c-j-stroud-7-houston-1059891424.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771330223_429_HB-TALKSPORT-OFF-PLATFORM-NFL-QB.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/anderson-jr-51-houston-texans-1059891759.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n