HOUSTON — There is a lot of excitement heading into the season for the Houston Texans team and its fanbase, which has to do with rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. He is a level-headed young man with the desire and work ethic to want to be successful every time he takes a snap.
Yet, he also knows that the days leading up to the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens will be challenging, and he experienced that on Tuesday during the first day of the Texans’ mandatory minicamp.
It was Stroud’s turn in the quarterback rotation to take first-team snaps, and he struggled against the first-team defensive unit led by second-year safety Jalen Pitre. Although he was able to make his reads quickly, it was his accuracy he had issues with at times during the team red-zone drills and two-minute offense.
Many of the miscues for Stroud on Monday had a lot to do with him still getting acclimated with his wide receivers, which should be an easy fix during Texans training camp later this summer.
One individual who had no issues with some of the mistakes Stroud made is his coach DeMeco Ryans.
“The best thing I’ve seen about C.J. with his improvement and growth is he doesn’t make the same mistake twice,” said Texans HC DeMeco Ryan’s about his rookie quarterback at the conclusion of day one of mandatory minicamp. #Texans #Sarge @TheTexansWire pic.twitter.com/Eb1BaFGXp3
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) June 14, 2023
He watched as Stroud overthrew a wide-open wide receiver during the team 11-on-11 drills, only to come back and drop a perfect 25-yard pass to third-year wide receiver Nico Collins on the next play.
“The best thing I’ve seen about C.J. with his improvement and his growth is he doesn’t make the same mistake twice,” Ryans said during his press conference. “He learns from his mistakes; he puts those behind him, and he finds a way to continue to improve and get better.”
As of now, Stroud is locked in a battle for the starting quarterback position with Davis Mills, who looked impressive on Monday heading into training camp, as the Texans have not named who will be their starter to open the season.
