C.J. Stroud’s rough finish to the 2025 season has sparked plenty of noise in Houston, but Warren Moon isn’t buying the idea that the Texans should start looking elsewhere.
The Hall of Fame quarterback, who starred for the Houston Oilers, made his case on SportsRadio 610 and came down firmly in Stroud’s corner when the conversation turned to Baker Mayfield, who is set to hit free agency in the 2027 offseason.
“I don’t think so,” Moon said about the Texans replacing Stroud with Mayfield. “I think if you polled most people, they’d rather have C.J. over Baker.
But I guarantee you that Tampa would come after C.J. if the Texans tried to go after Baker. He’s going to be very highly coveted around this league.”
That’s the heart of the debate in Houston right now. Stroud’s third season ended with an ugly divisional-round loss to the New England Patriots, a 16-28 defeat that included four interceptions and only deepened the questions around him. But Moon sees a quarterback whose value still reaches well beyond one bad stretch.
He pointed to Stroud’s age as a major reason not to overreact. Moon believes the Texans passer still has plenty of runway ahead of him and can get back to the level that made his 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year season look like the start of something bigger.
“But ultimately, the biggest reason for his belief was the massive age difference between the two,” Moon continued. “C.J. will, especially because he’s a young guy, and he’s not even in his prime yet.
He’s still got his best years ahead of him. So I’m not worried about it.”
Moon doubled down on that point, saying the panic around Stroud is overdone.
“I know there’s a lot of panic in this city, but I’m not worried about it,” Moon added. “And hopefully a lot of other people aren’t worried about it as well.”
The Texans are staring at a real decision window with Stroud. His rookie deal runs through 2028, and a contract extension would be waiting on the other side if Houston decides he’s still the long-term answer. If the team ever wanted to move on, Moon’s view is that it would have to happen in the next two seasons.
For now, though, Moon isn’t pushing Houston toward a Baker Mayfield swap. He sees Stroud as a franchise quarterback in the making, and one who still has time to reset after a third-year dip.
And Stroud will have help this time around. Houston heads into 2026 with a much-improved offense after a productive offseason, giving him a better chance to rebound than he had last year. Whether that’s enough to settle the debate is another matter entirely.
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