Houston Texans rookie quarterback CJ Stroud is having a phenomenal season, making him the favorite to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. However, recent history shows that taking home that trophy might not be a good thing for his team.

In the last 20 years, nine quarterbacks have won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. They are:

  • 2004: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
  • 2006: Vince Young, Tennessee Titans
  • 2008: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
  • 2010: Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams
  • 2011: Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
  • 2012: Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
  • 2016: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
  • 2019: Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
  • 2020: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Of these OROY-winning signal-callers, only Ben Roethlisberger has a Super Bowl trophy. That means just one award-winning rookie QB has won a Super Bowl in two decades, and none have done it in the last 19 seasons.

Ryan and Newton made it to the Big Game but lost (Ryan to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots and Newton to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos). Young, Bradford, and RGIII all suffered injuries that derailed their career, and Prescott, Murray, and Herbert all still have a chance, but they and/or their teams all have deficiencies that make a Lombardi Trophy seems unlikely in the next few seasons.

So, the lesson here, as it applies to CJ Stroud and the Texans, is that winning the OROY Award is great, but moving forward, keeping the QB healthy and surrounding him with good players and coaches is the most important thing to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl.