It’s only been two years since C.J. Stroud was initially drafted by the Houston Texas with the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, but some are already beginning to fear that he may be leaving the franchise sooner than later. The 23 year old showed up to the Texans’ second preseason game of the year wearing a Seattle Mariners’ hat, and that proved to be enough to send the internet into a frenzy.
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When a reporter informed him of the fact that some of Houston’s faithful were concerned over his choice in wardrobe, Stroud promptly explained that “It’s all about the swag, baby!”
“I support the Astros and the Dodgers because I’m from L.A.” he noted. “I know it’s kind of contradicting, but I still love the Astros.”
Considering that the Mariners and Astros are both tied at 58 wins heading down the stretch of the regular season, it’s safe to say that Stroud is the only one in Houston who is laughing about it. Thankfully, he made up for it with his performance on the field.
Stroud was one of four quarterbacks to play for the Texans today, with all of them helping to guide the franchise towards a 20-3 victory against the Carolina Panthers. He only saw a total of eight passing attempts, but that was enough to produce six passing completions, 44 passing yards, and a touchdown pass to Nico Collins that proved to be the highlight moment of the afternoon slate.
C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins right where they left off
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— NFL (@NFL) August 16, 2025
Apart from his hat, Stroud’s Saturday outing figures to be an encouraging sight for Texans fans. He managed to connect with Collins on two of three targets for a total of 13 yards and the aforementioned touchdown, suggesting that they are once again primed an above average season in terms of productivity.
Stroud and the Texans managed to walk away from the 2024 season with a 10-7 regular season record and a Wild Card victory against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. However, their 23-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs suggests that there’s plenty of room for growth.
Unfortunately, both the team’s starting running back, Joe Mixon, and their WR2 in Tank Dell, are struggling to stay healthy. At the end of the day, it seems as if Stroud and Collins will be the ones shouldering most of the burden.
Seeing as there’s only a few weeks left until the 2025 regular season officially kicks off, perhaps it’s best if this is the final glance that fans get of them until the Texans find themselves traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Rams on September 7.
