Josh Rosen’s NFL future is cloudier than ever, but there’s still a place for him in the league.
It wasn’t long ago that Josh Rosen was the tenth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and since that time, he’s already been on two teams and very well could be on his way to his third team in just three seasons.
Heading into the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Rosen was one of five quarterbacks who had a first round grade. After Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold went in the top three, Josh Allen went to the Bills at number seven, and that prompted the Arizona Cardinals to trade up to select Rosen with the tenth overall pick.
Rosen appeared in 14 games and started 13 of those, throwing for 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. It wasn’t a great rookie season for the UCLA rookie, but the Cardinals offensive line was atrocious, allowing 45 sacks on Rosen.
Even though the offensive line was so bad, the Cardinals decided they had seen enough of Rosen and took Kyler Murray first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. While there were brief discussions that maybe the two could co-exist in Arizona, Rosen was traded to the Miami Dolphins and did not do well in South Beach.
Rosen’s first (and quite possibly only) season in Miami saw him appear in six games (three starts) where he threw for 567 yards, one touchdown, and five interceptions. Ryan Fitzpatrick was named the starter in the first two games, but the Dolphins were blown out in both games and that paved the way for Rosen to become the starter. It was obviously too soon for the 2018 first rounder.
After three starts, Rosen was benched again in favor of Fitzpatrick and that was probably all she wrote in Miami for Josh Rosen.
The question now is: What happens next for Rosen? His days in Miami are likely over, as the Dolphins have Fitzpatrick and just drafted Tua Tagovailoa with the fifth overall pick. That doesn’t leave much room for Rosen to make an impression.
Rosen hasn’t had the kind of career analysts thought he would for the first two years, but there’s still potential there. In Arizona, the lack of an offensive line led to him getting the snot beat out of him week after week and Miami was clearly tanking at the start of the season, so there wasn’t much talent there at all.
Rosen is just 23 years old and shouldn’t be given up on yet. While there haven’t been teams linked to Rosen, someone like the Dallas Cowboys could be a nice landing spot for him. At this point, Rosen probably isn’t going to be a starter anytime soon, so he could backup Dak Prescott and learn from Mike McCarthy.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could also be an option, as they have Tom Brady as their starter for the next two years and could use a backup for him. If Rosen impresses behind Brady, perhaps he could take over for the Bucs once Brady hangs up the cleats.
It’d be a shame to see Josh Rosen flame out after just two years in the NFL, but in his two years in the pros, he’s been a loser on draft weekend in both years. The first was when the Cardinals took Murray and the second was this year when they grabbed Tua, once again showing that he was expendable to his current team.
What teams should look into adding Josh Rosen and do you think he’ll get back into a starting role in the future?