It’s hard to defend cj after this mess man, I’d be willing to give him one more year before I can decide if I’m ready to move on from him.
no they need to get rid of Jerrod for one he has regressed on his watch. Stroud don’t get a say on anything coaching wise
I think that we need another WR if Dell and Kirk are unavailable. We have Collins and Higgins but after them we struggle. I like Hutchinson in certain roles but he's not a starter. Noel is a great return man but not a starting WR. Getting Brevin Jordan back will give us a true weapon at TE. Schultz is also decent. Stover is terrible but I like him in the tush push package. We DESPERATELY need an infusion of talent in the OL. I know that CJ is bad but sometimes the OL is just horrific. We can also use another RB to pair with Woody.
If no one will give anything for Stroud, I’d cut him long before I put him back in the locker room or anywhere close to the line of scrimmage. Anyone who thinks he should take another snap for this team is either joking or just plain DUMB.
Like it or not, I think CJ is our QB in 26. I think we need a proven QB coach and, if possible, a smarter OC. And, yes, I believe we need a MASSIVE upgrade on the OL and another WR and RB. All of that will be good for us regardless of who plays QB.
I agree with that. Especially a WR that can create separation, because we don't have that on our roster right now
Think we need to come to terms with CJ being the starting QB next season. They aren’t trading him and there are no viable replacements in any case. Best course of action is hiring a real OC, invest the OL and run game, and hoping CJ can be a competent game manager with a healthier core. If not, cut your losses with CJ and hope a QB falls into your lap somehow.
Free agency is loaded with offensive linemen, tight ends, and running backs, so the offense should see a real upgrade. Skill guys like Breece Hall and David Njoku would obviously be great additions, but the Texans’ top priority this offseason should be Tyler Linderbaum. Replacing Jake Andrews with Tyler Linderbaum would dramatically improve the offensive line and stabilize the entire offense. Add in the blocking and playmaking ability of David Njoku (with Cade Stover out for the year and Brevin Jordan functioning more as a receiver), plus Dalton Schultz playing in a contract year, and the offense would have real versatility. Pair that with a backfield of Marks, Breece Hall, and Nick Chubb (I would cut Mixon), Tank Dell returning, Nico Collins available for at least half the season, and Kirk, Higgins, and Noel all entering their second year with the team, this roster is loaded. Man i wrote all that and I still believe if CJ the quarterback, the way he's played the last two years, with all that, he'd still **** the bed smh
I would guess this will be the approach. - I think they’ll bring Caley back. I don’t believe he held this team back. Hiring an inexperienced OC was a mistake - but Caley got better throughout the season; by the end of the year, he was quite good. He is, like so much of this offense, hampered by lack of talent. I don't believe he was an issue and I have faith he'll only get better. Plus, they do need some continuity. - They must upgrade their IOL. This is priority 1. Only Ersey at LT should be locked in; otherwise, you absolutely have to invest legitimate resources into the other four spots. No more of this bargain-bin approach they took last offseason. - They need a game breaking RB. Marks is fine but he doesn’t threaten a defense. They have to find a back who does. - They need to be brutal and honest in evaluating their WR room. It starts with an acknowledgement that they will have to win without Collins and Dell. They miss too many games. How can you do that? Can Higgins make a leap? Why was Noel unable to get on the field? Is Hutchinson just a slightly better version of John Metchie? And why was Kirk invisible for the entire season, minus the wild card game? - If they don’t upgrade Schultz (which should be on the table), they need better, more reliable depth at TE. As for Stroud… fans need to accept there will not be a better QB available. Sure, if the cheap Bengals call you about their disgruntled, very expensive QB, you make that deal. Otherwise, Stroud is your best option in ‘26. Hopefully, system continuity + upgrades around him gives Stroud a better foundation to succeed in '26. This season ended disastrously - but Stroud did good things prior, despite issues around him (see above) and missing 3.5 games. You try not to let small sample sizes influence you. But when those sample sizes happen in the playoffs, it’s really hard. I wasn’t as hard on Stroud after last week because i saw a lot of good things and didn’t think there was ANY chance the bad things were repeatable. Yesterday’s performance recasts last week as VERY concerning. There are legitimate problems around Stroud: the Patriots destroyed our IOL. The running game was awful. Our WRs struggled to get open without Nico tilting the field. But none of that is grounds for a 5-fumble, 5-interception two-game stretch in which all you had to do was not turn the ball over and you’re probably in the Super Bowl. I'll say this... I *still* think the offensive line is THE biggest issue with this team. It is a massive problem. Watch any other game, and the pass protection in those games does not look *anything* like ours. Stroud is constantly stressed. He is not handling it well - a year + of being bludgeoned + the concussion this year, I think, have made an impact. That's on Caserio, Ryans and the organization, not Stroud.
You gave a good assessment, but I’m genuinely curious about all the people who actually don’t think the way Stroud played in n the playoffs was a major unforgivable issue. He literally played about the WORST a QB can play in the playoffs and some of you still have no problem with him coming back. it literally doesn’t matter what moves we do. If CJ Stroud is our starting QB next season then it’s pointless. I don’t ever want to see CJ as a Texan ever again. I’m not accepting him as coming back. I assure you if Texans do that they are going to lose a lot of fans and money. It’s Bill O’Brien / Jack Easterbay drama all over again.
Trading away CJ with no viable plan for a QB going forward would be just as catastrophic as CJs performance yesterday. And half way through the year the entire organization would be getting crucified. Stroud ain’t it when it matters but he’s not going to lose you 12 games in the regular season either. You absolute cannot just cut bait and wash your hands. And I’m as pissed as anyone about the performance yesterday.
I agree with most of this except, I think RB and TE are by far the biggest issues. I don’t think it’s even close. They certainly need to upgrade offensive line as well. We need depth and explosive players at RB and TE. We’ve needed that for years. Schultz is fine. I want him around. Woody is solid. I want him around. Those are not game breakers at all. They are solid pieces.
