Texans’ C.J. Stroud ‘feeling a little bit better,’ still under NFL concussion protocol, next man up: Davis Mills

HOUSTON – The status of Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is still being determined as he’s evaluated under the NFL concussion protocol.

Although coach DeMeco Ryans relayed that the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is improving after suffering a concussion on a hard hit Sunday that forced him out of the game against the Denver Broncos, he remains sidelined at this time.

Usually, players who suffer a concussion miss at least one game. In the case of Stroud, he was sidelined for two games when he suffered a similar type of concussion as a rookie against the New York Jets. Both times, the back of his head crashed into the ground as he was sent flailing backwards.

“C.J. is under the concussion protocol, I spoke to him last night,” Ryans said. “He’s feeling a little bit better. We’ll see how the week goes and how he progresses throughout the week.”

In order to be cleared under the NFL protocol, Stroud has to have no concussion symptoms, which normally include a gamut of sensitivity to light, headaches, blurred vision, loss of memory and other cognitive issues.

Stroud would need to practice twice and have no recurrence of symptoms and be cleared under a mandatory baseline neurological exam and by an independent doctor before returning to play. That was what happened with Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins as he sustained a concussion against the Seattle Seahawks, missed one game against the San Francisco 49ers and then returned to play Sunday against Denver.

The Texans replaced Stroud with backup quarterback Davis Mills, who struggled with his accuracy against the Broncos’ formidable defense.

He completed 17 of 30 throws for 137 yards with no scores and no interceptions. After halftime, Mills went 7 for 16 for 53 yards as the offense mustered no real production.

Stroud completed 6 of 10 passes for 79 yards before getting hurt.

Mills is the next man up for the Texans as he’ll prepare to face the Jacksonville Jaguars by taking the first-team snaps in practice this week and make his first start since the 2002 season, the year before Stroud was drafted second overall out of Ohio State.

“Just expect him to go out and do his best,” Ryans said. “Play the offense the proper way, make great decisions with the football.”

Mills has a 5-19-1 all-time record as a starter, was signed to a one-year, $7 million extension earlier this season and has completed 62.3 percent of his career throws for 6,327 yards, 35 touchdowns and 25 interceptions.

Could Mills have performed better? Certainly, but it’s a tough situation going in cold. Especially against a defense like the Broncos with the top-ranked pass rush in the league.

“Potentially, yeah,” Mills said after the game that included just 33 yards of offense in the fourth quarter. “There’s always a couple plays you want back or plays that you think you could execute better, but we’ve just got to keep pressing forward, have a really good week of practice going into this next week and find a way to get a win at home.”

After the game, his foundation posted photos of Stroud with his mother, Kimberly Stroud, along with a caption: ‘C.J. is OK. Thank you for your prayers."

The Texans offense went 0 for 3 in the red zone and 3 of 17 on third downs.

“It kinda fired a lot of guys up,” tight end Dalton Schultz said. “Obviously, you never want to see hour quarterback go down. Anytime you have a big-name guy like that go down, especially the quarterback, it sucks, but, dude, you gotta find a way to bounce back.

“It’s your time to step up. We We need the next guy to come in and just be consistent. Just execute.”

Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine launched himself at Stroud with a hard left shoulder tackle that collided with the quarterback’s chest plate and sent the back of his helmet crashing into the artificial turf, bouncing off the ground.

Stroud stayed down for several minutes while being attended to by trainers before walking gingerly off the field with trainers, extending a thumb’s up to the crowd at NRG Stadium. He left the game and didn’t return as he was diagnosed with a concussion.

In the aftermath of the hit, which initially drew a flag for unnecessary roughness, the penalty was removed with officials accurately determining that Abrams-Draine didn’t make contact with Stroud’s head or neck. However, the judgment call that it was a legal tackle didn’t sit well with the Texans.

“It’s a tough play,” Ryans said. “Quarterback is sliding. I thought quarterbacks are protected when they slide, but what I’m learning is as long as you don’t hit them in the head or neck area, if they slide and you hit them in the chest, then that is just fine. That is what I learned.”

The Texans’ position: Stroud was giving himself up with the slide and should have been protected under the NFL rulebook, as other star quarterbacks have been.

“Man, it was very unfortunate, I think it was a BS call,” said Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr., one of Stroud’s closest friends. “We talk about protecting quarterbacks. C.J. is a big name in this league. He’s a quarterback that a lot of people love and watch. We love him in here.

“Man, I hope we can get him back. Obviously, you see the play. Still got hit in the head, to me. It’s whatever, man. It’s the league.”

The review of the hit ultimately reached a conclusion that the penalty wasn’t warranted.

The Texans disagree vehemently.

“As I see it, it’s unnecessary roughness when you hit the quarterback when he’s sliding and giving himself up,” Ryans said Sunday. “If I’m incorrect on the rule… I’ve seen that happen multiple times with our guys and we get the penalty. But, for some reason, it just didn’t happen there.

“So, we’ll look at the film and see what actually happened there. At the end of the day, we lost our starting quarterback because of the play and any time you lose your starting quarterback it’s always tough.”

From the standpoint of Texans veteran linebacker and team captain Azeez Al-Shaair, there’s a clear inconsistency in how the game was officiated by referee Ronald Torbert.

A year ago, Al-Shaair was ejected for fighting after the hit, suspended for three games and fined when he caused a concussion with his high forearm tackle against a late-sliding Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Al-Shaair drew harsh criticism in a disciplinary letter from NFL executive Jon Runyan, who had a long history of illegal hits when he was a player for the Philadelphia Eagles. Al-Shaair even contemplated leaving the game. He was derided widely on social media and characterized as a dirty player, also receiving racist and anti-Islamic comments stemming from his Muslim faith and support of Palestine.

“Obviously, last year, that was me,” said Al-Shaair, who spoke with the Broncos corner. “So, the first thing I’m thinking is like, ‘Damn.’ It’s a tough situation. I was like, ‘Hey, I was literally just there. You’re probably gonna get crucified, you might get kicked out of the game. But just know who you are and know that all that stuff that people are gonna say about you, if they do, it is what it is. That’s not reflection of who you are. Just let that play clear your mind.”

The Texans are at midseason crossroads at 3-5 overall. They rank ninth in the standings in the AFC. They are 3 1/2 games behind the AFC South division leading Indianapolis Colts. They are two games behind the Jaguars. This is a critical game.

“Right now,” Ryans said, “we can’t talk about the playoffs until we play football better.”

NOTES: Texans right tackle Tytus Howard is under the concussion protocol. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game along with linebacker Christian Harris with a shin injury.

Blake Fisher replaced Howard at right tackle.

Reserve defensive end Darrell Taylor was ruled out with an ankle injury.

“Tytus is under the concussion protocol as well, again we’ll see how those guys progress,” Ryans said. “As you guys know, concussions are very sensitive to each guy. We want to make sure they come back and are okay when they come back. We don’t want to rush guys back from concussions.

“It’s all about players’ health and safety. That’s the first and foremost thing I’m concerned about. Tytus is feeling better, I did speak with him as well. With Christian and DT, we’re still evaluating those guys and see what that looks like as the league goes on as well.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com