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C.J. Stroud is heading into a critical fourth season with the Houston Texans.

If C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are heading for a break up, neither side is showing it.

With the offseason program behind them, Stroud and the Texans are on break until they reconvene for training camp later this summer.

Stroud is coming off a polarizing campaign, in which he was efficient during the regular season but saw his counting stats fall while he also missed three games with his second career concussion. Postseason struggles mere upped the ante on the former No. 2 overall pick.

C.J. Stroud Gets Reminder From Texans

Stroud, the second pick of the 2023 draft, has led the Texans to the postseason in all three of his pro seasons, among other accomplishments.

And yet, he stands as the exception to what has become a rule for the Texans in terms of securing their top talent long-term. The Texans picked up Stroud’s fifth-year option and still have the franchise tag to use beyond that indeed be, though neither side is aiming for that.

Still, without an extension in place, Stroud’s future will be a big talking point in 2026.

“CJ7 YEAR 4 LOADING,” the Texans said in a post on X on June 13, including a picture of Stroud and offering a fitting reminder about their young QB.

“I let my agent handle it,” Stroud told reporters in May regarding his future and a potential contract extension with the Texans. “If it’s time to do it, then it is. If it’s not–my job is football. So, that’s what I focus on, just getting better. I think I’ve held my bargain up on that edge.

“Whatever happens, happens. I’m excited to be a Texan this year and go from there.”

Stroud, who turns 25 in October, has been adamant that he feels he has done enough to warrant an extension and that he wants to remain with the Texans.

Texans Have Faith in QB Plan

The Houston Chroncicle’s Jonathan M. Alexander noted that the Texans have faith in quarterback coach Jerry Schuplinski in response to a fan’s question about having an independent trainer work with Stroud.

“That was Jerry Schuplinski’s role last season before he was promoted to quarterbacks coach this offseason. I personally think there shouldn’t be so many voices in a quarterback’s ear, and the Texans have minimized that after parting ways with Jerrod Johnson, though that wasn’t necessarily their goal,” Alexander wrote on June 13.

“The Texans are confident Schuplinski’s elevation will help Stroud this season.

Schuplinski, who also has prior experience in the offense the Texans are running under second-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley, has supreme confidence in Stroud.

“Last year, I think we did a great improvement in terms of our sack production, or decreasing that quite a bit. So, we’ll start there,” Schuplinski told reporters on June 11 about the Texans’ “biggest” change. “And as long as we can protect the quarterback, I would start there and say I have total faith in him that he’ll get the ball out and deliver it to the right spot, and do well doing that, as long as we can protect him.”