The Arizona Cardinals have been lukewarm on their commitment to sophomore quarterback Josh Rosen, calling him their guy “for now.”
Eventually, “for now” will turn into “not anymore,” and that time will likely arrive later this month at the 2019 NFL Draft, where Arizona is widely expected to select Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray at No. 1 overall.
If the Cardinals do ultimately make the decision to select Murray, Rosen will immediately be shopped and there are no shortage of potential destinations. Here’s a look at the top six.
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers appear committed to Jameis Winston for the time being, but if Bruce Arians & Co. aren’t completely sold on him, Josh Rosen makes a lot of sense. Of course, Tampa Bay also has a top 5 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, so the internal debate they’d face is using that pick on a top quarterback prospect or trading a mid-round pick for Rosen, who could sit behind Winston until (if) the time comes to replace him. The one major downside for Tampa Bay would be the media swarm calling on Rosen to play if Winston were to struggle out of the gate this season.
5. New England Patriots
The Patriots don’t necessarily need a quarterback given that superhuman Tom Brady will seemingly be around forever, but how could anyone look at this scenario and not think, “that’d be such a Bill Belichick move!” New England has an egg basket full of picks in the 2019 NFL Draft and it wouldn’t be too difficult to pry Rosen away from Arizona, so it would make sense for New England to find some potential Brady insurance. And should Brady just keep chugging along, Belichick could simply develop Rosen like he did with Jimmy Garoppolo and then trade him away for more than the team spent on him.
4. Miami Dolphins
Ryan Tannehill is out in Miami, and Ryan Fitzpatrick is in. While that quarterback swap may provide the Dolphins a little Fitzmagick, they can’t feel comfortable moving forward with an aging quarterback who will hit the age of 37 this coming season. Fitzpatrick is little more than a bridge from the bust that was Tannehill to whoever comes next. Why not Josh Rosen? Head coach Brian Flores is going to want his own guy under center and offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea could use some of the knowledge gleaned from his time in New England to help develop Rosen into the quarterback many projected him to be when he was taken in the first-round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
3. Washington Redskins
After suffering a gruesome compound leg fracture in Week 11 of last year, Alex Smith is likely to miss the entire 2019 regular season. To prepare for life without their top quarterback, the Redskins acquired Case Keenum from the Denver Broncos this offseason, but he’s merely an insurance policy. Even when Smith ultimately returns, Washington will still need to think about their future at the position and Rosen could provide an ideal solution. Similar to Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Rosen could come in and learn behind Smith before eventually taking over the reigns.
2. Los Angeles Chargers
Philip Rivers seems to have plenty of gas left in the tank, but at some point sooner rather than later, the Chargers will have no choice but to look ahead and consider their future. Currently, they’re strong Super Bowl contenders and are focused on winning now, so it’s unlikely they’ll want to use any high draft picks on a quarterback. That’s where Josh Rosen could come into play. If the Cardinals end up seeking a mid-round pick, the Chargers could part with one of theirs — all of which come late in each round — and not endure too much of a loss. It would return Rosen to California, where he’d like to be, and give the Chargers their franchise quarterback of the future when Rivers eventually steps away.
1. New York Giants
The Giants passed on Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold and the other pack of quarterbacks a year ago and it’s widely believed they may do the same here in 2019. However, with the Cardinals expected to take Kyler Murray at No. 1 overall, it makes Rosen expendable and the Giants have already reportedly expressed an interest in trading for the young quarterback should he become available. And if Rosen were to go for something like a third-round pick, it may present a value the Giants can’t pass up as they not only look to find an Eli Manning heir, but would also allow them to address their pass rush and offensive line concerns over the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.
