Perhaps the New York Jets don’t have to wait for the 2027 NFL draft to solve their quarterback issues.
NFL analyst Marcus Whitman threw out a trade idea involving the Houston Texans and the Jets.
“If you were the Texans, would you trade C.J. Stroud to, let’s say, the Jets for Two 1st Round Picks and avoid having to make a decision on paying him $45 Mil?” Whitman openly asked on social media.
At the time of publication, his tweet had over 350,000 impressions on social media. He polled his audience and received 4,518 votes after asking, “If you were the Texans, would you take this deal?”
56.8% of the fans said yes, and 43.2% of the fans said no.
The Complicating Factor of This Conversation
Stroud, 24, will turn 25 during the 2026 season.
The former Ohio State product has two years left on his rookie contract. Houston picked up the $25.9 million fifth-year option on Stroud’s contract this offseason.
Now that Stroud has completed three years at the NFL level, he is now eligible for a long-term extension.
Houston doesn’t appear to be in any rush to get that deal done, though.
Stroud looked like a transcendent star as a rookie. He was named the Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Pro Bowler in 2023, but he hasn’t been able to reach that same level since.
Across his three years in the NFL, Stroud has started 46 games. With those opportunities, Stroud has completed 63.8% of his passes, has thrown for 10,876 passing yards, and has a 62 touchdown to 25 interception ratio.
ESPN Analysis
“I asked a handful of people around the league about Stroud and his potential trade value if the Texans choose not to sign him to a long-term contract, and generally got two responses. One was an immediate response that he’s still a really valuable quarterback. The other was a long pause and a sigh before something far less confident came out of the other person’s mouth. ‘I’m glad it’s not my problem,’ is what I heard from one team that already has its quarterback under contract,” ESPN’s Bill Barnwell wrote.
“Stroud was disastrously bad during this past postseason, the 2023 second overall pick was solid enough during the regular season, with his 11th-placed finish in Total QBR placing Stroud ahead of guys such as Justin Herbert, Trevor Lawrence, and Jared Goff,” Barnwell revealed.
“He has been a consistently above-average quarterback despite playing behind inconsistent offensive lines and nonexistent run games throughout his pro career so far. And if you place stock in wins, well, Stroud is just the third quarterback in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first three pro seasons after Otto Graham and Russell Wilson,” Barnwell added.
“And yet, it’s also fair to wonder if Stroud will ever be able to meaningfully build on his rookie season, which itself was driven by an unsustainably low interception rate and an 8.2 yards per attempt figure, neither of which Stroud has come close to matching since. I still think Stroud’s more than a midlevel quarterback, but it’s unclear whether the 24-year-old really has the sort of elite-level ceiling he hinted toward as a rookie,” Barnwell wrote.
Jets Should Strongly Consider This Option
The chances of this move happening before or during the 2026 season feel remote. Houston is going all in to try and win a championship.
However, if Stroud doesn’t do enough for Houston, it’s an intriguing possibility for the Jets to consider.
The Jets have three first-round picks in the 2027 NFL draft. If Houston were to take two of those picks for Stroud, the Jets at least have to think about it.
Consider this: the Jets could, in theory, acquire Stroud and still have a first-round pick next year to use on something to help him.
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