Four Potential Landing Spots for Cardinals’ Josh Rosen
As the Kyler Murray to the Arizona Cardinals rumor continues to pick up steam, the status of last year’s no. 10 overall pick, quarterback Josh Rosen, remains in limbo. After months of silence, Rosen appeared in an exclusive interview with Sports Illustrated TV on April 18 and addressed the possibility of being traded.
“It’s annoying but it is what it is. Football’s a business, and I definitely respect the higher-ups and their decisions,” Rosen said.
With the draft starting on April 25 and teams inquiring about Rosen’s availability, there seem to be four teams where the second-year quarterback could realistically end up playing next year.
New York Giants:
The Giants have been talked about as a potential destination for Rosen, and the paring makes sense on several fronts. With aging quarterback Eli Manning set to enter the final year of his contract, the Giants have no clear succession plan in place at the moment. While the Giants may look to take a quarterback in the draft this year, there are multiple reports that suggest the Giants are not in love with any of this year’s prospects. If this is the case, and the team likes Rosen more than any other quarterback in the draft, the Giants could look to package up a couple of their league high 12 draft picks this year and trade for the young quarterback if they believe Rosen could be their franchise quarterback of the future and help accelerate the team’s rebuild.
New England Patriots:
With Tom Brady set to turn 42 before the start of the season, the future hall-of- famer certainly isn’t getting any younger. While Brady could still play for a couple more seasons, the franchise will soon have to imagine life without their six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback. With veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer as the only other quarterback on the roster, the Patriots do not currently have an heir apparent to Brady. If none of the quarterback options in this year’s draft please Bill Belichick and company, the Patriots could take a long, hard look at Rosen. Given Belichick’s unparalleled level of success as both a coach and de facto general manager, don’t put it past the 67-year-old to trade for Rosen at great value and groom him to eventually succeed Brady.
Washington Redskins:
A year ago, the Redskins thought they had found an answer to their long struggle of finding consistent quarterback play when they traded with the Kansas City Chiefs for former no. 1 overall pick Alex Smith. Unfortunately for the team, Smith suffered a compound leg fracture last season and the team is unsure when he will play again. This prompted the Redskins to swap late round picks with the Denver Broncos for quarterback Case Keenum. However, Keenum is not viewed as the long-term answer for Washington. With uncertainty surrounding their future quarterback, the Redskins are rumored to be one of the teams seriously considering Rosen should the Cardinals decide to part ways with him. While unlikely to give up their first-round pick, the Redskins could move for Rosen at the right price if they see him as their potential quarterback of the future.
Arizona Cardinals:
Despite the NFL and its observers salivating at the possibility of a Rosen trade, it is entirely possible the Cardinals don’t in fact take Murray no. 1 overall, and that they have simply built up a smoke screen in hopes of trading the pick instead. While Rosen certainly did not have a dream rookie season by any stretch, it would be unfair to place the entirety of the blame for the Cardinal’s struggles last season on him. Rather than using the pick on Murray, the team could instead use the pick on top ranked prospect DE Nick Bosa out of Ohio State. The team could also trade out of the no. 1 pick and acquire more draft capital to upgrade areas of need, such as wide receiver, both sides of the line, the secondary and linebacker.
Contact Zachary Schiller at [email protected].
