Maybe Josh Rosen isn’t on his way out of the desert after all.
Rosen reportedly was made available for trade by the Arizona Cardinals, who many believe will use the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft on Kyler Murray. The New England Patriots made sense as a potential landing spot, as Tom Brady will enter his 20th season in the league at age 42.
But according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Arizona and New England haven’t talked shop about a potential Rosen trade. In fact, the Cardinals reportedly only have spoken to two teams interested in acquiring the 22-year-old.
Adam Schefter on @MutCallahan says the Cardinals do not have a deal in place to trade Josh Rosen and have not spoken to the Patriots this offseason about a potential trade. They have talked to only two teams — Dolphins and Giants.
— Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) April 25, 2019
The Miami Dolphins and New York Giants might be the two most quarterback-needy teams in the league, so Schefter’s report isn’t surprising in that sense. But the fact that the Cardinals allegedly only have spoken to two clubs about Rosen could be an indicator that they’re not aggressively shopping the No. 10 overall pick from the 2018 draft.
Arizona might be better served to go with Rosen over Murray anyway. The UCLA product’s rookie-season numbers aren’t anything to write home about, but the Cardinals didn’t exactly offer him an opportunity to succeed in the 2018 campaign. Rosen, obviously, still has great upside and could shine in a system led by the offensive-minded Kliff Kingsbury.
Murray, meanwhile, couldn’t be more of a high-risk, high-reward prospect. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is as athletic as they come, but it’s far from a guarantee he’ll excel at the NFL level. With Rosen already in the fold, the Cardinals might be better suited to attack a more pressing need with the No. 1 pick or shop it for a haul in return.
Arizona’s plan will be uncovered Thursday night when the 2019 NFL Draft gets underway.
