Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is not likely to play in his team’s Week 16 matchup with the Cleveland Browns as he continues to recover from a concussion, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC.
Wilson notes that Stroud has not been medically cleared to practice and that he is still dealing with sensitivity to light and other common concussion symptoms.
This would be the second straight game Stroud has been sidelined. He initially suffered the concussion during the Texans’ Week 14 loss to the New York Jets. He went 10-for-23 with 91 yards before exiting.
On the season overall, the rookie phenom has thrown for 3,631 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 62.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 98.7.
Stroud, who played his collegiate football at Ohio State, was selected by Houston with the second overall pick of the NFL Draft back in the spring.
He hit the ground running in his debut campaign, throwing seven touchdowns without an interception over his first five games.
The Texans were not expected to contend for much of anything this season, but thanks to some superb play from Stroud, they are smack dab in the middle of the AFC playoff race.
Currently, Houston sits at 8-6 and is tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts for first place in the AFC South. The Jaguars are technically in first place due to tiebreakers, but the Texans are also in the running for a Wild Card spot should they fail to win the division.
Of course, Houston’s playoff hopes may diminish fairly quickly if C.J. Stroud is unable to get back on the field.
Fortunately, the Texans were able to win sans Stroud last weekend, defeating the Tennessee Titans by a score of 19-16 in overtime behind an admirable performance from Case Keenum.
That being said, the Browns are a much tougher opponent than the Titans, so it remains to be seen if Keenum can maintain his level of play against one of the NFL’s best defenses.
After battling Cleveland, Houston will take on Tennessee (again) and the Indianapolis Colts to wrap up the regular season.
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