C.J. Stroud is no longer an MVP dark horse after his most recent outing

C.J. Stroud is legit. He's one of the best rookie quarterbacks of the modern era. He's had some of the most dynamic and skillful showings that a rookie quarterback can literally do. He's the front-runner for the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and he's having quite honestly the best rookie year any Houston Texans quarterback has ever had.

What he is not having, however, is an MVP-caliber season. He likely will, in time, but as of today, Stroud is not a legitimate candidate for the yearly Most Valuable Player of the Year Award. And nor should he be. It's nearly impossible for a rookie to make a claim for that award, especially when he's a bit inconsistent like Stroud is.

Rightfully so, he's just a rookie. He's going to have those ups and downs, but just because he's a rookie with expected highs and lows doesn't mean he gets to be graded on a different curve than every other quarterback or player in the league. Stroud struggled against one of the two worst teams in the league on Sunday in the Arizona Cardinals. And it's fair to say that Stroud was barely in the running in the first place for the MVP and after a three-interception day, he's all but dead in the race.

Especially against the Cardinals who only had five interceptions all year prior to their Sunday outing against the Texans. This is a bad defense, and Stroud struggled against them at times. Very rarely does a guy struggle against one of the worst teams in the league the way Stroud has and goes on to win the MVP.

Now, he could still return to the conversation but it'll require another five-plus touchdown outing. If he does have another massive outing or two, then not only could Stroud return to dark horse contender, but he may be able to actually get some legitimate push for the award.

But right now, he's as likely to win the MVP in the NFL as Dolly Parton.

Stroud hopes to bounce back against the Jaguars and BetMGM has an INSTANT $200 bonus available today in his honor! If you sign up and bet $10 or more on the Texans right now, you'll immediately be credited $200 in bonus bets. Sign up for BetMGM now!