For the entire lead-up to the NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals were expected to take Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray. All the insiders and every “team source” reflected that virtual certainty.
Josh Rosen, though, was surprised. He had spent the past three months hoping that the Murray rumors were just elaborate smokescreens. After all, he reported to Cardinals offseason workouts and had new head coach Kliff Kingsbury teaching him the new playbook. It seemed like the Cardinals were committed to him.
But even when the Cardinals made Murray the pick, Rosen wasn’t entirely ready to give up on his Arizona career. General manager Steve Keim told reporters that the Cardinals would consider keeping both players on roster — something the team obviously said in hopes of leveraging a better trade.
According to Sports Illustrated, Rosen heard those comments and was actually fine with it. He said that he would make Murray the backup.
Via MMQB:
While agency staffers in the next room celebrated the selection of other clients with wine and pulls of Tito’s vodka, (Rosen’s agent Ryan) Williams called Rosen from his office with an update: The Cardinals might actually keep you. “If that’s their position,” Rosen told him, “then I’ll just beat him out and Kyler can be the backup.” Williams’ reply: “They don’t want that, and they know they don’t want that. We’re getting a trade done.”
Rosen continued, acknowledging that Murray was going to be the guy:
“I absolutely would have competed if they kept me, but I would’ve been kind of bummed about it because I knew I wouldn’t get a fair shake,” Rosen says. “A GM’s not going to draft a quarterback and draft another one the next year, higher, and then play the first one. It’s admitting you made two mistakes. It just wouldn’t happen. I wouldn’t hesitate to compete, but I would know pre-emptively I wouldn’t get a shot even if I won the competition.”
The Cardinals were hoping to get a first-round pick for Rosen, but by not entertaining Rosen trade talks until after the draft started, Keim tanked the potential return value.
Ultimately, Arizona settled on a trade with the Dolphins — a second and fifth-round pick for Rosen. When the trade was announced, Rosen responded with a classy video that thanked the Cardinals and offered his Scottsdale condo to Murray. He showed up to Larry Fitzgerald’s celebrity softball game the following day before flying to Miami.
You can read the full story here.
