The Houston Texans have officially begun OTA season. All eyes are on quarterback C.J. Stroud, who is dealing with a sore right shoulder. Most telling, Stroud has not thrown during the media’s designated viewing windows at OTAs. Other than that, he’s restricted his on-field engagement to simply taking handoffs from the quarterbacks during 11-on-11 walk-throughs.
Here’s what head coach DeMeco Ryans said about Stroud’s status. He acknowledged that the team is proceeding with caution, but injected optimism regarding his health. Ryans has refused to answer questions regarding whether Stroud received any type of offseason procedure for his shoulder.
“There’s no concerns with C.J. It’s just general soreness. We are taking extra precaution with him. He’ll be good to go. No concerns on my end,” Ryans stated, reassuring fans and media about Stroud’s well-being.
Meanwhile, Stroud is recovering after a dismal 2022 season. He saw extreme pressure and was sacked 52 times, the second highest in the NFL. All the focus shifted to his franchise playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Over the course of that game, he’d been sacked eight times and pressured on 56% of his dropbacks. Of course, the Texans have crunched the numbers. To help address this, they’ve taken drastic steps to rebuild their offensive line and help protect Stroud.
To shore up their pass protection, the Texans signed left tackle Cam Robinson. They further improved the offensive line by signing swing tackle Trent Brown and left guard Laken Tomlinson. They traded for former Minnesota Vikings right guard Ed Ingram and drafted Minnesota left tackle Aireontae Ersery in the second round of the draft. These moves are to help bolster their offensive line and help lessen the hits and pressure Stroud was feeling last season.
Ryans has certainly been an adjustment on the coaching staff, too, utilizing strategies and players to make sure Stroud is protected within the pocket. Despite Stroud’s current soreness, Ryans expressed confidence in his quarterback’s progression.
Ryans chimed in too, putting an exclamation point on why he believes Stroud will one day be the Texans QB and leader of choice.
The Texans are focused on increasing their offensive firepower this season. They hope to keep Stroud clean and advance past the divisional round in their quest for a long playoff run.
Leave a Reply