Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters on Wednesday that quarterback C.J. Stroud will be sidelined for their Week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars due the concussion suffered in Week 9.
"Where we are right now with the concussion protocol, I do not see C.J. playing this week," Ryans said.
Stroud was ruled out of Houston's loss to the Denver Broncos after sustaining a hit to the head on a big collision in the second quarter.
Davis Mills finished the game and is slated to start on Sunday.
The Jaguars contest will be Stroud's first game missed due to injury since Weeks 15 and 16 of his rookie year, when he suffered his first concussion.
In their first year under offensive coordinator Nick Caley, Stroud and the Houston offense have struggled. The Texans (3-5) rank 24th in scoring offense, 19th in total offense and 18th in passing offense through eight games. Stroud has completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 1,702 yards, 11 touchdowns and five picks.
In a critical divisional game against the Jaguars (5-3), the embattled Houston attack will have to lean on a veteran backup in Mills, making his first start since Week 18 of the 2022 season, the final game before Stroud was drafted.
"Davis is a super, super smart guy, sharp guy. Just seeing how he operates in the huddle," Ryans said. "Now it's about post-snap. Post-snap, can we go through, can we make the proper reads, can we get to the right spot with the football and can we just execute?
"Davis doesn't have to do too much. We just all have to do our jobs. Nobody has to step up and do anything different."