You might have thought that the Houston Texans had already named C.J. Stroud their starting quarterback for Week 1 of the regular season.
Stroud was the second pick in the NFL Draft. He started each of Houston’s first three preseason games. Texas didn’t take him into the top five to give Davis Mills the job.
But rookie coach DeMeco Ryans didn’t want to make it public for some reason. After the Texans’ final pre-season game Sunday night, Ryans finally announced that Stroud would start Week 1, which came as no one’s surprise.
Stroud didn’t have a great pre-season but finished the season on a high note, connecting with Neko Collins on a three-yard touchdown against the New Orleans Saints Sunday night.
Stroud came in with great expectations. The Texans picked him to be the new face of the franchise when they drafted him right after Bryce Young was taken over by the Carolina Panthers. It would have been a surprise if he didn’t start from the first week on. Once he was named to start in the first pre-season game, it was pretty clear he would get approved for the regular season as well.
The first game for the Texans was at the Baltimore Ravens. This isn’t an easy test, but the Texans are ready to see what they have in the rookie quarterback.
