Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud throws INT right away, struggles in NFL preseason debut

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud's NFL career will have plenty of highlights. That means it's only uphill from how it started.

Stroud, the second overall pick of the NFL Draft out of Ohio State, threw an interception on the first preseason series of his NFL career. Veteran New England Patriots safety Jalen Mills read Stroud and broke on his third-and-21 pass downfield, grabbing an easy interception. Stroud will learn from that mistake. The safeties are a lot more aware than they were in the Big Ten.

Stroud completed 2 of 4 passes for 13 yards before he was pulled after two series. When the Texans started Stroud in the preseason opener, they wanted a little more of a positive result than that. They surely don't want to revisit a quarterback competition.

The Texans let Stroud pass it right away. On the first play he had a short dropback, scanned the field and hit Nico Collins for an 8-yard gain. That was his most positive play.

His second dropback reminded everyone he was a rookie. Stroud went back, held the ball too long as his first read was covered, then took a 15-yard sack by defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale. On the next play he spun out of a sack, showing his athleticism, and had a short 4-yard run. Then came the Mills interception.

On the second series, Stroud rushed a pass under pressure and threw too high on a short flare out by running back Devin Singletary for an incompletion. He faced pressure on the next play and unloaded a pass for another incompletion, but there was a roughing the passer penalty on the play. Stroud had a short completion after that, and his scramble on third down came up short of the first down. Davis Mills was the quarterback when the Texans got the ball back.

Texans camp started with head coach DeMeco Ryans saying there would be a full quarterback competition between Stroud and Mills. It was hard to take that seriously considering most quarterbacks who were top two picks in the NFL Draft start right away, or at least very soon into the regular season.

It was promising when Ryans named Stroud the Texans' starter for the first preseason game. Most teams wouldn't start a highly drafted rookie in the preseason opener, then demote him for a veteran in a subsequent preseason game unless he fails in the preseason. Stroud getting the start Thursday meant he was on track to start the regular-season opener.

There's a lot of time for Stroud to play better, in seasons to come and also this preseason. The Texans will want to see progress and not have to wonder about their quarterback decision for the regular-season opener.