CJ Stroud suffers nightmare start to preseason with two howlers in opening drive

11 August 2023 , 01:09

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CJ Stroud threw an interception after being sacked for the Houston Texans

Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud made a nightmare start to his NFL career, throwing an interception off his very first drive.

Stroud was the second overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, coming out of Ohio State after a successful three years. The 21-year-old is already their starting quarterback for the upcoming season, with Davis Mills and Case Keenum listed below him in their depth chart.

But their first game of pre-season against the New England Patriots started disastrously, with Stroud taking a sack for a loss of 11 yards, before throwing an interception the following down. Stroud was picked off by Jalen Mills and headed for the sidelines looking up at the sky.

Stroud's small cameo ended with two out of four completions, just 13 passing yards and a 17.7 QBR. His one interception and one sack was not the start to pre-season that Stroud or the Patriots were hoping for.

The Texans enjoyed a successful draft, trading with the Arizona Cardinals to secure the third overall pick. The Texans already had the second overall pick, meaning they selected Stroud and top defensive prospect Will Anderson Jr. from Alabama.

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Stroud impressed heavily during the first two OTA's at the Texans, with veterans Robert Woods and Jalen Pitre praising him publicly. Stroud was very confident when speaking during his first press conferences, and he said everything fans wanted to hear

"It’s a dream come true (but) for me it’s just a stepping stone," Stroud said when asked how it felt to work with his teammates for the first time. "Of course, I’ve been working for it my whole life, but I feel like I’m built for this and I’m made not just to play football but to use football to help people and inspire and lead people to God.

"But it’s just a stepping stone. I have a lot more goals and a lot more plans to accomplish what I want to accomplish, off and on the field, so I’m excited to be able to do that with this great organisation.

"They’ve taken it very methodically and want me to learn it step by step, just like they would do with anyone else. I’ve tried to do a lot of work on my own so when I come back the next day, I have that put in the bank to be able to move on to the next install or whatever it is.

"I’m just trying to get better every day and trying to push myself, learn from the older guys and get all the feedback I can and be on my film, be here all early, all the little things to push myself to be great." It was a bad start for Stroud, but he has two more pre-season games and more training camp sessions to iron out any cracks.

Joseph McBride