The Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio was asked directly about C.J. Stroud, who reportedly rejected a $50 million offer this week, and he gave a carefully guarded response. With a looming deadline and no deal in sight, Houston’s plans for its franchise quarterback remain up in the air.

“Yeah, I’m not going to comment on that, we’ve never done that before,” Caserio said on contract talks with C.J. Stroud, via KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. “ So we’ve had good discussions, I’d say, with his representatives, as we do with a lot of different players. So at some point, there’s an agreement in place, right? If not, then something’s probably addressing the offseason.”

Talks between the Texans and C.J. Stroud have been going on all offseason, but so far nothing’s come close to a done deal, according to people familiar with the situation.

Back on July 29, when training camp opened, Nick Caserio said there was a “possibility” things could get wrapped up. Fast forward to now, with the season just under two weeks out, and that window is closing fast.

Sports journalist Evan Sidery added some clarity on X, reporting that Stroud won’t be putting pen to paper before Week 1. According to his post, Houston put more than $50 million a year on the table, but Stroud is holding out for something closer to $60 million.

For now, Stroud is finishing out the last guaranteed season of his rookie deal. The Texans already locked in his fifth-year option back in April, so he’s under contract through 2027 at a guaranteed $25.9 million. That gives Houston some breathing room, since they don’t have to rush anything and can always circle back once the season wraps.

Stroud himself seems pretty unbothered by the noise around it. Asked about the contract talks at the start of camp, he made it clear he’s leaving that part to his agent, David Mulugheta.

“You have to keep the main thing the main thing,” he said in July. “You have to just focus on one day at a time, one play, and the football is what’s gotten me to even have the conversation, to be able to get a second contract. I have to focus on football.”

And it’s not hard to see why the Texans want him locked up. He’s thrown for 10,876 yards in his three-year career so far, reaching the playoffs in all of those seasons. It is a little too early to write him off as a bust.

Caserio isn’t in any hurry to force the issue either. “Yeah, I’ve taken one day at a time,” he said. “So whatever the result is, and kind of handle business, it’s a business to be in time.”

However, discussion around the quarterback’s future picked up volume after a troubling finish to his 2025 campaign. It wasn’t Stroud’s best statistically; he finished with 3,041 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and missed three games due to a concussion. He threw four of those interceptions in the playoff loss to the New England Patriots alone.

While Stroud and the Texans negotiated their future, many believed the latter would end up trading the quarterback. Stroud rejecting a $50 million deal is unexpected, considering only five quarterbacks are in that range. And he is no Patrick Mahomes or Dak Prescott, the only two signal callers who are in the $60 million club.

“Get some paper, but I’m just saying don’t act like you are entitled to $55- to $60 million per year,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take. “No, it ain’t like that for you in Houston, and if you could get upwards of $45 million or something like that, I think he should take it.”

Whether that dip factors into how the Texans are approaching these talks is anyone’s guess, but for now, both sides seem content to let the situation play out over the coming months rather than force something before kickoff.