If there’s one thing we’ve learned about making bold predictions on social media, it’s that there is no sure thing. But John McClain is not deterred when it comes to the future of C.J. Stroud with the Houston Texans.
Last we saw Stroud, the former Offensive Rookie of the Year put up one of the worst quarterbacking performances in the playoffs in recent memory. In a loss at the eventual AFC champion New England Patriots, Stroud threw 4 INTs, was 20/47 through the air, and posted an abysmal 28.0 quarterback rating. Given how the Patriots played against the Seahawks and what we saw in the AFC Championship Game against the Broncos, even a below average performance from Stroud would have sufficed to put the Texans in the Super Bowl.
The wretched performance has many questioning whether the former Buckeye star still possesses the ability to be a championship-caliber quarterback. After a stellar rookie season, his play has shockingly regressed behind a struggling Houston offensive line.
However, one person keeping the faith is the legendary NFL writer. John McClain has covered the NFL for nearly 50 years and has seen it all in that time. And he’s so confident that the Texans will move forward with C.J. Stroud that he took to social media to say he will walk naked in downtown Houston if the team trades its franchise quarterback.
If CJ Stroud is traded I’ll walk naked down Kirby Drive at rush hour! Is anyone else willing to do it if he’s NOT traded? Didn’t think so!
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) February 17, 2026
At this point, we should remind everyone that we have seen bets like this go horribly, horribly wrong for the person involved. Chef Elizabeth Heiskell backed out of her pledge to Paul Finebaum to run naked through Oxford if Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU and had to deal with the fallout of breaking her promise. And did anyone ever find the Florida State fan who pledged to eat poop if the Seminoles lost a game to Boston College and then fled social media, never to be seen or heard from again?
At the very least, John McClain may want to put an expiration date on his bet. We don’t really want to have to revisit this five or ten years from now if a trade does eventually happen in the years to come.
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