Will the Houston Texans continue their upward trajectory?
After coming off a season where they won a playoff game for a second-straight season for the first-time since 2011 and 2012, the Texans hope to get to the next level, this season.
With the club locking up their 2022 first-round pick, star cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. to a three-year, $90 million deal, this past March, the Texans’ front office’s attention now turns to their 2023 star duo for potential new deals.
In a substantial prediction from Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated, the Texans will award their 2023 NFL Rookie of The Year duo, C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson with a pair of massive deals following a (predicted) bounce-back 2025 season.
“The Texans hit a grand slam in the 2023 draft, selecting Stroud and Anderson with back-to-back picks in the top three. Both of them won Rookie of the Year honors. After this season, both will have one year—plus the fifth-year option—remaining on their deals, which is often the start of a conversation for franchise cornerstone players.
However, after another early playoff exit, the Texans are going to work feverishly to lock up Anderson before the Micah Parsons deal completely obliterates the pass-rushing market and makes signing one next to impossible. Parsons is playing on the fifth-year option.
That leaves Stroud to either cement his fortune or watch it dwindle the following offseason. Signing Anderson also creates leverage for the Texans by making it easier to eventually use a franchise tag on their quarterback.”
Stroud completed 63% of his passes while throwing for 3,727 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2024-2025 and managed to lead the Texans to a playoff berth, where they’d wallop the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC Wild Card round before coming up short against the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.
Meanwhile, Anderson Jr. surged in his second-season, notching 11 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery, all surpassing his rookie season marks despite only playing in 14 games this past season.
