It really never seemed like any team besides the Miami Dolphins had a chance of winning the Josh Rosen sweepstakes, but the Arizona Cardinals reportedly looked into all potential options.
As the 2019 NFL Draft approached, the Dolphins emerged as the most likely trading partner for the Cardinals, who did what most expected when they drafted Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick. Arizona reportedly had talked shop with the Giants leading up to the draft, but New York’s reported interest in Rosen effectively was squashed when the franchise selected Daniel Jones at No. 6.
But the Cardinals, understandably, wanted to leave no stone unturned. And according to Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko, Arizona reached out to Rosen’s agent, Ryan Williams, to see if the Dolphins’ divisional rival had any interest in the young signal-caller.
“Williams was sitting behind his desk in Athletes First’s modish Laguna Hills, Calif., offices watching the 49ers select former Ohio State edge rusher Nick Bosa with the second pick when (Cardinals general manager Steve) Keim texted giving him permission to supplement Arizona’s efforts to find a trade destination for him,” Klemko writes. “Then at 6 the Giants took former Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, and Keim asked Williams if the Patriots liked his client and might be open to making him the heir apparent to Tom Brady.”
It’s tough to blame Keim for asking Williams about potential interest from the Patriots. After all, New England’s future at QB beyond Brady remains very much uncertain, and the Patriots reportedly had interest in Rosen leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft. It’s unclear how serious New England was about trading for Rosen during the draft, but the franchise reportedly sent feelers out to the Cardinals before the 22-year-old was shipped to South Beach.
The Patriots did end up addressing the quarterback position over the three days in Nashville, but it was in the form of fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham. And who knows, maybe Stidham and Rosen will be battling for AFC East supremacy in the not-so-distant future.
