If you were expecting Houston Texans head coach DeMaco Ryans to give you a heads-up on who his starting quarterback is, think again.
Although it’s quite obvious who will probably be the starting QB, C.J. Stroud, Ryans is not giving away anything and we will all have to find out like the Baltimore Ravens who are the Texans’ opening day opponent, who is the starter.
“We’ll have a starter in Baltimore,” Ryans said. “It’s the same as I said previously. You guys will see the starter when we get to Baltimore.”
#Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on C.J. Stroud improvement, run defense issues and a big play by Will Anderson Jr. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/3YLlfcLl7C
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 19, 2023
It’s not too surprising that Ryans is not sharing this information. He probably doesn’t want to give the Ravens a leg up on them by letting them know who he plans on starting.
But Stroud, who was the second overall pick of this year’s draft, was not drafted so he could sit on the bench this season. Like most rookie QB’s in the past, Stroud will do his learning on the field.
Ryans did say he was proud of Stroud and how he has been playing.
“I think overall with the operation of the offense, I thought C.J. was more efficient,” Ryans told reporters after the game, per Aaron Wilson. “He felt more comfortable, and I think everyone around him played better, which allowed him to play better. So I’m proud of the progression C.J. took this week, and that’s what we wanna see. We wanna see improvement week-to-week and that’s what we saw this week. So I’m proud of what C.J. did.”
So it sounds like C.J. Stroud is the unofficial starter for the Texans, but don’t tell that to DeMaco Ryans.