The Houston Texans have been without C.J. Stroud for the past two and a half weeks after that scary concussion in the Week 9 loss to the Denver Broncos. However, he practiced on Tuesday, and the entire H-Town faithful felt the mood shift. And now DeMeco Ryans shared where things stand with his quarterback.

“We’ll see what happens. C.J., it was great to see him back out there. He was back at practice. Just to see him back around the guys with a huge smile on his face, him feeling well, that’s the most important thing,” Ryans said at the post-game conference.

“When our guys are in the concussion protocol, I just wanna make sure they’re healthy and they’re well. So that’s the one thing I’m most happy to see, that he’s well, he’s himself, and he’s ready to get back to football.”

That line hit home, because the Texans have watched Stroud take some brutal hits this season. He left the game, and the concussion turned out to be severe. As a result, he missed the rest of that game. He also sat out the Week 10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Week 11 win over the Tennessee Titans.

However, despite those victories, everyone in Houston knows the offense runs differently with Stroud, the player who has 11 touchdowns and a completion percentage of over 66%. The Texans have handled business the last two weeks, but they want their leader back soon. Sadly, that won’t happen just yet. He missed the Buffalo Bills game, where the Texans won 23-19.

However, there is some good news. Reports expect him back for the Week 13 showdown against the Indianapolis Colts.

C.J. Stroud’s on-field return is very close

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Texans were really close to getting their star back in Space City. He explained before kickoff that his understanding was that Stroud was “very close” to playing for the Texans against the Bills in Week 12.

“In fact, had the game been on Sunday instead of Thursday, C.J. Stroud likely would have played. He’s doing well. He is expected to be on the sidelines tonight. Just not enough time to be cleared for this one.”

After that, Rapoport broke down the practice situation.

“He was cleared for limited participation on Tuesday, likely would have been a full participant if there was practice ahead of a game today. Then, would need to be cleared by the independent neurologist. I’m told the expectation, if things go this way, is for him to play November 30th against the Colts.”

That timeline fit what the Texans expected all week. He also pointed out the short-term plan. Rapoport noted that instead of Stroud, Davis Mills will look to go 3-0 in his place this season. He said this lined up with earlier reports that Stroud would have played if the game were on Sunday.

DeMeco Ryans also added his own outlook. He said Stroud and safety Jalen Pitre were trending up but got stuck by the schedule.

“It’s really encouraging just to see both guys out being able to practice and go through those things. So, it is encouraging to see that they are making those steps to get themselves back healthy.”

So now Houston waits to see what happens next, as they play it safe due to the nature of the injury.