C.J. Stroud is nearly back to 100 percent, despite being limited in practice this week. Heading into Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts, the Houston Texans starting quarterback was listed as questionable due to a shoulder issue.
This week, Stroud revealed that he suffered a similar injury back in 2021 during his time at Ohio State.
"I remember my injury from Week 1 when we played [the University of] Minnesota my redshirt freshman year at Ohio State," Stroud said. "I had an AC joint sprain and then played Week 2 with that, and I did a lot of the same things I kind of did for this injury that I had now, just to get back feeling right. When you're playing, your adrenaline usually takes away the pain, so that helped a lot. But after the game, I felt it a little bit, but as I've gotten back with Roland [Ramirez] and my guy [Brandon] Kukal, they've helped me a lot get back [to being] ready, so I feel almost 100%."
In the 31-20 loss to the Colts, Stroud completed 30-of-47 passes for 384 passing yards and two touchdowns, marking a new career-high and the second-most passing yards by a rookie quarterback in a single game in franchise history. Through the first two weeks, Stroud has thrown 91 passes for 626 yards, setting the record for the fourth-most passing yards by a rookie quarterback in NFL history during that span.
While Stroud's shoulder issue may be reminiscent of the one he suffered in college, the Texans aren't taking any chances. Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik said the staff has a plan for Stroud moving forward. With the amount of passing Stroud does in game, he'll be managed accordingly throughout the week.
"I think it's always like any time you have a starting quarterback that's going to play all year, you always have an arm management program and it's kind of what best fits the individual, you know?" Slowik said. "It may be some days he's limited on throws, it may be some days he's not limited on throws, but he's limited on other stuff that's not team-period related. And that is kind of a week-to-week thing and it's an individual thing as we go through the year. So he's always going to be on an arm maintenance program every quarterback is it's just what we're doing that specific week."
The Texans travel to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars in Week 3. Sunday's kickoff from TIAA Bank Field is set for noon CT on FOX and SportsRadio 610.
