Connect with us

Sports

NFL QB stock report, Week 16: Why hasn’t C.J. Stroud played like the phenom he was as a rookie?

Published

on

NFL QB stock report, Week 16: Why hasn’t C.J. Stroud played like the phenom he was as a rookie?

Houston Texans sensation C.J. Stroud had a chance to solidify himself this season among the NFL’s elite class of quarterbacks.

The No. 2 pick in the 2023 draft was an easy choice for Offensive Rookie of the Year. During training camp, The Athletic asked coaches and executives which three quarterbacks they’d take to start a franchise from scratch, with Stroud appearing on 16 of 27 ballots. Only Patrick Mahomes received more votes.

Instead, Stroud’s projected jump has been on hold. He hasn’t been bad this season, but his performance has dipped — and so has his standing in these rankings. This is the first time Stroud has found himself outside of the top 10. One executive said Stroud has been “not playing anywhere near (as well as) last year” when he was so dominant that he dramatically accelerated the Texans’ rebuild by leading them to their first AFC South title in four years.

The Athletic’s Week 16 QB rankings

Advertisement

Two statistics stand out. First, Stroud led the NFL in 2023 with 273.9 passing yards per game, but it has dropped to 232.0 this season, ranking 17th. He also led the league as a rookie by throwing interceptions on 1 percent of his passes, but that’s doubled to 2 percent (16th in the NFL) this season.

“I don’t expect C.J. to be a guy who dips and will continue to struggle,” a second executive said. “I think he’ll figure it out, and they’ll figure it out as a team. They have enough weapons. The way they’ve run the ball will take pressure off him.”

Stroud’s issues have stemmed from protection problems on the offensive line. He’s already taken more sacks this season than as a rookie (45 to 38), and he’s been sacked on nearly 9 percent of his dropbacks, an increase of about 2 percent.

“He’s getting the s— beat out of him,” the second executive said. “He’s been getting hit all year. When C.J. is under pressure, the play is going to drop off. When you’re not comfortable and don’t trust what’s around you, that’s not surprising as a young quarterback. I don’t think he’s regressed. I think he’s just sped up with the progressions and the throws, and that hurts accuracy.”

Advertisement

The hits can be impossible for even the best quarterbacks to overcome, let alone the younger signal callers who are still developing. When the Texans lost three of four earlier this season to the Lions, Jets, Colts (win) and Packers, Stroud took 18 sacks and was hit 17 more times.

Of course, it also hasn’t helped that top receiver Nico Collins missed five games with a hamstring injury, star wideout Stefon Diggs tore his ACL in Week 8 and running back Joe Mixon missed three early games with a high ankle sprain.

So no, Stroud hasn’t dazzled the way he did as a rookie, but it’s also understandable. Add in the defensive adjustments that young quarterbacks face, the lack of pass protection and the injuries around Stroud, and it’s been enough to rock his typically steady composure.

“People in the scouting community were interested to see how this offense and the player would adjust in Year 2 when teams had a year to study, adjust and learn what he does well and what he struggles with,” a third executive said. “Now it’s up to the offensive staff and the player to adjust if they can.”

It’s also fair to point out that Stroud isn’t the first quarterback to deal with protection and injury issues. But at this stage of his career, that’s a common confluence of factors that result in temporary quarterback regression.

Advertisement

“It’s learning how to deal with that,” the second executive said.

All the while, the Texans still wrapped up the AFC South division title with three games to play. They beat the Bills in Week 4 and lost to the Packers and Lions by a combined five points, so they’re not too far off. Their next two games, against the Chiefs and Ravens, could change the entire perception around the Texans’ playoff chances.

However the rest of the season plays out, no coach nor executive surveyed by The Athletic this season believes Stroud’s rookie year was a fluke. This season is viewed as growing pains for a quarterback who can still mature into one of the league’s best players.

GO DEEPER

NFL playoff picture after Week 15: Eagles, Vikings join Lions atop NFC; Rams lead NFC West

Advertisement

Collision course

Jared Goff has been outstanding all season, but the Lions QB did something Sunday in the loss to the Bills that should create optimism during a frustrating stretch in Detroit.

Earlier in the year, executives wanted to see how Goff would perform when the Lions weren’t in command of the game — obvious passing situations in a deficit when he needed to go throw for throw with an upper-echelon quarterback on the opposing sideline.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Lions got a reality check against Bills. How they respond will determine how far they can go

Suffice it to say, Goff didn’t blink despite trailing by multiple scores for the majority of the Lions’ 48-42 loss. And given the state of the Lions’ injury-ravaged defense and the unenviable task of countering another superhuman performance from Josh Allen, there wasn’t any room for error after Detroit’s stagnant start.

Goff finished Sunday 38-of-59 passing for 494 yards and five touchdowns. He led four consecutive TD drives to close the game, nearly helping the Lions pull off a miracle comeback despite a rare Amon-Ra St. Brown lost fumble and a Jake Bates missed field goal.

Advertisement

Goff proved he can post points in a hurry if necessary. And with how many injuries the Lions have endured, it will probably be necessary.

Speaking of which, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts also silenced some doubters, internal or otherwise, with a brilliant performance in a 27-13 victory against the Steelers. He was 25 of 32 for 290 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 45 yards and a score, and Hurts did it while running back Saquon Barkley was largely limited.

Advertisement

The Lions and Eagles have been the NFC’s top-two seeds since the playoff picture began to take shape, so it would hardly be a surprise to see them square off with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. And with both quarterbacks answering pivotal questions against quality opponents, such a matchup could live up to the hype.

Pick 2

Two random thoughts. First, Packers wideout Romeo Doubs did indeed make an awesome catch on his game-sealing 22-yard touchdown against the Seahawks, but let’s not lose sight of Jordan Love’s throw. The Packers QB was at the 32-yard line when he made the throw to Doubs, who was at the 10-yard line and wrestling through tight coverage during the QB’s windup. Love picked a perfect spot and couldn’t have thrown it any better.

Second, and this might sound weird after a 12-6 rock fight in the rain, but Rams QB Matthew Stafford has been playing at a very high level for most of the past month. His performance two weeks ago against the Bills was as good as it gets in terms of making high-quality throw after high-quality throw. The Rams are shaping up to be a threat if they get into the playoffs, and Stafford’s play is a primary reason.

Bloody Sunday

It was a tough week to play quarterback. Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain; Geno Smith exited with a knee injury; and Justin Herbert aggravated his ankle injury.

Advertisement

Additionally, Jameis Winston, Jake Haener and Will Levis were benched, while Tommy DeVito suffered a concussion.

We kept Winston and Levis in the rankings while the Browns and Titans assess their situations. Haener was replaced in the rankings by Spencer Rattler, as we work under the assumption he’ll get a longer look after his impressive second half against the Commanders.

Showing the fragility of the backup/fringe starter dynamic across the league, just six teams have had the 32nd-ranked QB in 16 weeks this season — the Dolphins (five times), Giants (four), Raiders (two), Titans (two), Saints (two) and Packers (one). And in hindsight, if there was any way to predict how well Malik Willis would have played for the Packers, they wouldn’t be on this list.

Dropped out: Drew Lock (heel injury), No. 31 last week; Haener (benched), No. 32 last week.

(Photo of C.J. Stroud: Luke Hales / Getty Images)

Advertisement

Sports

Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit

Published

on

Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A law firm leading the charge in the ongoing Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women’s sports has responded after a federal judge suggested the case’s ruling could impact a separate case involving a similar issue. 

Colorado District Judge Kato Crews deferred ruling in motions to dismiss former San Jose State volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system until after a ruling in the B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to come in June. 

Slusser filed the lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in fall 2024 after she allegedly was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for a whole season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male. 

 

Advertisement

Meanwhile, the B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a trans teen sued West Virginia to block the state’s law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports. 

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is the primary law firm defending West Virginia in that case at the Supreme Court, and has now responded to news that Slusser’s lawsuit could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling. 

“We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women,” ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs said.

Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, thus helping his case. 

(Left) Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Right) Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ( Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

Advertisement

“We’re looking forward to the case going forward,” Bock told Fox News Digital. 

“I believe that the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to an assumed or professed gender, and so just like the congress and the members of congress that passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided for in the regulations that there had to be separate men’s and women’s teams based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that is the original meaning of the statute and apply it in that way, and I think it’s going to be a big win in women’s sports.”

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared prepared to rule in favor of West Virginia after oral arguments on Jan. 13. 

Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 while oral arguments took place inside, sharing her experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters. 

With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference final by virtue of a forfeit by Boise State in the semifinal round. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.

Advertisement

Slusser went on to develop an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma from the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe, that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. Her decision to drop her classes resulted in the loss of her scholarship, and her parents said they had to foot the bill out of pocket for an unfinished final semester of college. 

President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming, and has given the university an ultimatum to agree to a series of resolutions or face a referral to the Department of Justice. 

Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team spike her in the face during a match. ED claims that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

SJSU trans player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)

Advertisement

SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya told Fox News Digital in a July interview that he was satisfied with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.

“I think everybody acted in the best possible way they could, given the circumstances,” Konya said. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Related Article

'Horrible' moments exposed for UNR volleyball players when they were roped into the SJSU Title IX scandal

Continue Reading

Sports

Myles Garrett cited for speeding a ninth time, an elite pass rusher seemingly always in a rush

Published

on

Myles Garrett cited for speeding a ninth time, an elite pass rusher seemingly always in a rush

Myles Garrett is in a hurry to become the greatest pass rusher in NFL history. The Cleveland Browns All-Pro defensive end set the single-season sack record in 2025 and has cracked the top 20 career leaders after only nine seasons.

“I’m going to take that down, and I prefer I take it down in the next five years,” Garrett told Casino Guru News last month.

Off the field, however, his urgency to get from point A to B is a problem. He’s accumulating speeding tickets at an alarming rate.

On Feb. 21, Garrett was handed his ninth speeding ticket since his NFL career began in 2017. He was cited for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71 between Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.

The citation from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Garrett was driving his green 2024 Porsche at 1:35 a.m., returning home after attending a Miami of Ohio basketball game in Oxford.

Advertisement

Body cam footage shows the officer telling Garrett that she kept the charge under 100 mph so that a court appearance wouldn’t be mandatory. Garrett reportedly still holds a Texas driver’s license — he attended Texas A&M — and told the officer that he did not have an Ohio license.

Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett wears a jacket displaying his girlfriend Chloe Kim before the women’s snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy.

(Lindsey Wasson / AP)

The officer wrote that the famously affable Garrett was “kind and cooperative,” and that drugs and alcohol were not a factor.

Advertisement

Garrett’s need for speed flies in the face of his persona. He has written poetry since high school, peppers social media with inspirational sayings and donates time and money to several charities.

His girlfriend is two-time gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, for whom he wrote a poem he shared on social media: “You enrapture fools to kings, and exist without a peer, put on this Earth for many things, but our love is why you’re here.”

Verse hasn’t slowed his roll. On Aug. 9 he was cited for ticket No. 8, clocked at 100 mph in a 60-mph zone in a Cleveland suburb a day after the Browns returned home from a preseason game at Carolina.

Garrett’s seventh ticket followed a frightening crash in 2022. He flipped his gray 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S off State Road in Sharon Township and he and a female passenger were injured. He was cited for failing to control his vehicle due to unsafe speeds on what had been a slick roadway.

A witness told a responding police officer that Garrett’s vehicle went airborne, took out a fire hydrant and rolled three times. Garrett sustained shoulder and biceps sprains and was sidelined for the Browns’ game that week against the Atlanta Falcons. His companion was not seriously injured.

Advertisement

Cleveland television station WKYC reported that in September 2021 Garrett was stopped twice in a 24-hour period — for driving 120 and 105 mph. The infractions occurred on Interstate 71 in Medina County, where the speed limit is 70 mph, and he paid fines of $267 and $287.

A year earlier, Garrett was cited for driving 100 mph in a 65-mph zone of Interstate 77 — again while driving a Porsche — and paid a $308 fine. He accumulated his first batch of speeding tickets in 2017 and 2018, and the police reports recite similar circumstances: Garrett driving well over the speed limit, cited without incident, paid a nominal fine.

The piddly fines certainly aren’t a deterrent. Garrett, 30, and the Browns agreed to a four-year contract extension in March 2025 that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time. The deal pays the seven-time All-Pro more than $40 million a season and includes more than $123 million in guaranteed money.

He set the NFL single-season sack record with 23.0 last season, surpassing the 22.5 accumulated by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. Garrett has 125.5 career sacks, averaging 14 a season, a pace that would enable him to break Bruce Smith’s career record of 200 in five years.

“That is definitely on my mind to go out there and get,” Garrett said. “That’s a goal I’ve had for years now since college.”

Advertisement

Garrett has declined to discuss his driving habits.

“I’d honestly prefer to talk about football and this team than anything I’m doing off the field other than the back-to-school event that I did the other day,” he told reporters after ticket No. 8 in August, referring to a charity appearance.

“I try to keep my personal life personal. And I’d rather focus on this team when I can.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Keith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death

Published

on

Keith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former ESPN broadcaster Keith Olbermann once again incited backlash on social media Wednesday after he called late legendary college football coach Lou Holtz a “legendary scumbag” in an X post on the day Holtz was announced dead. 

“Legendary scumbag, yes,” Olbermann wrote in response to a clip of Holtz criticizing former President Joe Biden in 2020 for supporting abortion rights. 

Olbermann received scathing criticism in response to his post on X.

 

Advertisement

“You’re a scumbag that needs mental help,” one X user wrote to Olbermann. 

One user echoed that sentiment, writing to Olbermann, “You’re the real scumbag here. Lou Holtz had more class, integrity, and genuine decency in his pinky finger than you’ll ever show in your lifetime.”

Another user wrote, “You’re a grumpy, lonely, Godless man. All the things Lou Holtz was not.”

Keith Olbermann speaks onstage during the Olbermann panel at the ESPN portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel July 24, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif.  (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Olbermann has made it a pattern of sharing politically charged far-left statements that are often combative and ridiculed on social media, typically resulting in immense backlash.

Advertisement

After the U.S. men’s hockey team’s gold medal win, Olbermann heavily criticized the team for accepting an invitation from President Trump to the State of the Union address. Olbermann wrote on X that any members of the men’s team who attended the event were “declaring their indelible stupidity and misogyny,” while praising the women’s team for declining the invitation.

In January, Olbermann attacked former University of Kentucky women’s swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler for celebrating a women’s rights rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments for two cases focused on the legality of biological male trans athletes in women’s sports.

Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz listens before being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec, 3, 2020.  (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It’s still about you trying to find an excuse for a lifetime wasted trying to succeed in sports without talent,” Olbermann wrote in response to Wheeler’s post. 

In 2025, Olbermann faced significant backlash after posting (and later deleting) a message on X aimed at CNN contributor Scott Jennings, that said, “You’re next motherf—–,” shortly after the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. 

Advertisement

Holtz was a stern supporter of President Donald Trump, even saying in February 2024 that Trump needed to “coach America back to greatness!”

Near the end of Trump’s first term, shortly after former President Joe Biden defeated him in the 2020 election, Trump awarded Holtz with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States. 

After Holtz’s death was announced Wednesday, several top GOP figures paid tribute to the coach on social media. 

Those GOP lawmakers included senators Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; Todd Young, R-Ind.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; representatives Greg Murphy, R-N.C.; David Rouzer, R-N.C.; Erin Houchin, R-Ind.; and Steve Womack, R-Ark.; and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Indiana Gov. Mike Braun; U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon; and Rudy Giuliani.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach, addresses the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit at the Marriott Marquis July 26, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

At the time of publication, prominent Democrat leaders have appeared silent on Holtz’s passing, including prominent Democrats with a football background. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who worked as an assistant high school football coach; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who was a recruiting target for Holtz in 1986 as a college prospect; Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, who played in the NFL; and Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Ill., who played football for the University of Illinois, have not posted acknowledging Holtz’s death. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement

Related Article

GOP lawmakers mourn legendary football coach Lou Holtz

Continue Reading

Trending