Should C.J. Stroud Get a Massive Contract Extension?
Grant Nola and John Browner debate whether C.J. Stroud's pursuit of a massive contract extension will stall the Texans as they prepare for their Week 1 matchup.
Video Transcript
Would you give C.J.
Stroud a massive quarterback extension right now?
Because the Texans GM said that Houston has had productive extension talks with C.J.
Stroud, but the team won't negotiate once the regular season starts.
So if there's no deal before week one, these talks are getting pushed until after the season.
And then this becomes a very large QB discussion of where does he rank in the hierarchy of quarterbacks?
Could this season be, like, the, the definitive season for him if he gets a big contract or not?
What do you think?
I would not pay him.
I wouldn't either.
I, I just, I just wouldn't, and here's why.
You gotta prove it for two years.
If, if, if I'm the Texans, I can franchise you.
You're gonna get rich in this process.
Yeah.
Ask Kirk Cousins.
No matter what, you're gonna get rich.
But if I'm gonna give you Patrick Mahomes money, no, I need to see two years of this.
And here comes the And this is my problem with quarterback contracts.
The next guy up thinks he's the, he should be the highest guy paid ever.
That eventually has to stop.
I think it's, it, the brakes got pumped with Baker Mayfield.
I think the brakes are gonna get pumped with this C.J.
Stroud if he gets the deal, which I think he will get a deal with the Texans because people are so afraid to lose a quarterback.
I honestly believe that we're going to be looking at C.J.
Stroud with the Texans with a respectable deal.
'Cause I don't, I don't think that they're going to sacrifice the, what they did with that defense and those bodies they got on defense to overpay C.J.
Stroud and end up cutting some of those guys.
Can you imagine Will Anderson Jr.
Walking because you paid C.J.
Stroud, I don't know, what's the number now?
$500 million?
What'd Patrick Mahomes get?
Phew.
Like five, 500 million- A lot of money something like that?
Yeah.
Right.
So you mean to tell me that you're gonna cut a check for C.J.
Stroud at 65, 70 million a year?
Oh my God, I c- But that's gonna be the number I just can't fathom that.
I can't fathom that.
That And that's the number that we're talking about when it comes to these quarterbacks.
So if I'm gonna make you the highest paid player in the history of the sport, I cannot have the last time I saw you in a meaningful game throwing it to the other team like it was a hot potato.
I can't do it.
I can't do it.
Even the computer agrees.
Green agrees.
Can't do it.
And that's, this is kinda how I felt with Trevor Lawrence bef- obviously, before this last season.
I was like, "Why are you giving him so much money?
Like, what has he done in the NFL to deserve that money?"
Sure, they won the game where Justin Herbert co- and the Chargers collapsed.
Yeah, he threw f- he threw four picks in that game, in the second half they were awesome.
But after that, it was literally just dud after dud, and I was starting to think like, "Man, this guy's probably a bust."
And then he has an awesome year last year in his first year of this big contract- Yeah extension, and he earned it.
So I don't know, like, oh my God, the Dolphins, what did they give Tua?
They gave Tua so much money.
Mm-hmm.
Oh my God, I can't believe even that one, that one was even worse.
I can't believe they gave him all that money.
But, but again, with Tua And by the way, there's always signs.
Brian Flores told y'all.
He told y'all about Tua.
What y'all do?
Fire him and then try to make sure he never work again as a head coach in the NFL.
He told y'all about Tua and y'all said that he was too hard on Tua.
Mike McDaniel came in and was as soft on Tua as soft can get, and now both of them on a new team.
And so there are always signs.
C.J.
Stroud has shown you signs.
He was awesome his rookie year.
He's been below average, not bad, he's been below average ever since.
I don't wanna hear about people being injured around him, because that means if you can rise those guys up that are left around you, then you get this money.
I don't hear nobody say that about Josh Allen.
I don't hear anybody say that about Lamar Jackson, because whatever's out there, they seem to play better when Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen's on the field.
I would put Joe Burrow in that same, in that same category.
Some guys play better when the quarterback is there.
He's one of those guys.
So I don't, I don't wanna hear it.
I'm, I'm not paying C.J.
Stroud 70, 65 to 70 million a year.
That's just- No insane to me, dude.
No.
A- and, and there's other quarterbacks that, like Didn't Kyler Murray get a big extension too?
Yep, and look where he at.
Exactly.
There, there's a long list, like A- and I just, for me as, as a GM and as, as a front office, if I'm the front office and I'm looking at these, these guys as, I guess their franchise guy, it's like, okay- they can be your franchise guy because I feel like front offices just, they believe in that, but they don't really look at, "Can he lead me to a championship?"
Like, do I really believe that he's up to the level of a Stafford, Allen, Mahomes?
Like, I don't think they, they see that.
They just, "Oh, he's our guy and we drafted him, so we have to keep him."
Sometimes you don't even have to go that high.
'Cause if I'm the Texans, can you beat Brad Johnson?
Can you beat Trent Dilfer?
Sure, okay.
'Cause that's what they need.
He's worse than that.
Can you beat Nick Foles?
Oh.
He's worse than that.
'Cause that's what you have With a defense like that, can you beat Jim McMahon?
That's what they need.
That's what you have to beat.
You have to protect the ball and you have to do the best job that you can managing this offense to score enough when the defense is giving you the ball time and time again
