Houston Texans announce C.J. Stroud to start first preseason game

The Houston Texans’ second overall draft pick C.J. Stroud has been announced as the starter for the team’s first preseason game against the New England Patriots. The news broke earlier Monday morning by Tom Pelissero.

This is fantastic news for the rookie considering early training camp reports claimed he was throwing interceptions in practice. Despite the double-edged reports, Stroud will take the reins in his first ever game in the NFL. Stroud’s slow development thus far does not appear to have wavered the confidence of DeMeco Ryans and GM Nick Caserio.

Stroud will be starting in front of incumbent QB Davis Mills who is 5-19-1 in his two seasons in Houston. Mills has yet to impress since being drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft in the wake of the Deshaun Watson saga.

Live reps with the first team in preseason is pivotal to the development and process of getting a rookie QB up to speed. Stroud will be without last year’s starting center and tackle. Center Scott Quessenberry’s season is done with a torn ACL and Tytus Howard has a hand injury that will keep him sidelined for several weeks.

Texans fans will also see the first glimpse of the new offense Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik is installing. The first-time OC followed DeMeco Ryans from San Francisco and plans to install a run-first offense that will resemble the Gary Kubiak era in Houston.