CJ Stroud’s Bizarre Pregame Warmup Has Over 6.3 Million NFL Fans Asking “WTH?” [VIDEO]
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
CJ Stroud had fans doing a double-take before Thursday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders. His warmup looked nothing like a typical pregame routine.
Video shared by @bunch_nuts shows the Houston Texans quarterback spreading his thumbs apart horizontally, then vertically, tracking each one from end to end with his eyes.
He repeated the motion several times on the field, drawing attention from cameras and fans alike.
“Very intrigued by CJ Stroud’s warmup tonight,” the post read. It has over 6.3 million views at time of writing.
Check it out here:
Replies poured in fast, and most people had no idea what they were watching.
One fan joked, “Whatever it was, he looked better.”
Whatever it was he looked better
— Micheal Scottsdale (@warbird1987) August 21, 2026
Another compared it to a recent NFL broadcaster’s on-air moment, writing, “Looks like what Tony Romo had to go through a couple weeks ago.”
Looks like what Tony Romo had to go through a couple weeks ago
— PrizePicks (@PrizePicks) August 21, 2026
A third fan offered the most likely explanation.
“This is to prevent the effects of vertigo,” they wrote. “My wife’s doctor has her do the same thing after being on a boat, airplane, etc. to avoid triggering her vertigo. We laugh about it endlessly.”
Ok but in all seriousness, this is to prevent the effects of vertigo. My wife’s doctor has her do the same thing after being on a boat/airplane/etc. to avoid triggering her vertigo. We laugh about it endlessly
— ryan (@grueny21) August 21, 2026
Stroud Delivered A Strong Outing Once The Game Started
Whatever the routine accomplished, Stroud looked sharp once kickoff arrived. He started Houston‘s second preseason game against the Raiders after sitting out the opener entirely.
Stroud played just one possession, but he made it count, leading a touchdown drive that Woody Marks capped with a 20-yard scoring run. He finished 65.7% on his completions for 187 yards, adding a touchdown without an interception.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans had signaled ahead of the game that he wanted a longer look at Houston’s offense, even while resting most defensive starters. That decision came together after wide receiver Jayden Higgins suffered a season-ending torn ACL earlier in the week, thinning out Stroud’s group of pass catchers heading into the regular season.
Stroud enters 2026 with plenty riding on a bounce-back year. He’s coming off back-to-back seasons that fell short of his rookie form, a stretch capped by a rough divisional-round loss to the Patriots in January.
Fans have taken notice of nearly everything Stroud has done this offseason, whether it’s his physical transformation heading into training camp or the reaction to his arrival at camp back in July, both of which drew plenty of chatter online.
The Vertigo Explanation Lines Up With Real Medical Practice
The fan’s vertigo theory holds up medically. Eye-tracking exercises that involve following a fixed point across a horizontal and vertical plane are a documented technique used to help the vestibular system recalibrate after disruptions like air travel, motion sickness, or inner-ear issues.
Whether that’s exactly what Stroud was doing remains unconfirmed, since neither Stroud nor the Texans have addressed the video directly.
For now, the routine remains one more small mystery in a preseason that’s already brought plenty of change to Houston’s offense. Stroud and the Texans wrap up their preseason slate before opening the regular season on the road against the Bills.
