Getty Images Josh Rosen heads back to the sidelines late in the game against the Bears
The Arizona Cardinals started week three off with Sam Bradford under center. Although the nine-year veteran has been less than ideal thus far, the Cardinals have remained committed to him. That was until they decided that enough was enough, late during this week’s game against the Chicago Bears.
It was only a matter of time until the Cardinals benched Bradford. Just last week, he passed for under 100 yards off of 27 attempts. The Bradford-led Cardinals started the season off winless heading into week three. Even though Bradford has been the center of attention for all of Arizona’s struggles, they weren’t quite ready to trot out their first-round pick, Josh Rosen.
The Cardinals grew fed up with Bradford though, during week three. Despite tossing two touchdown passes, Bradford continuously caused self-inflicting wounds for the Cardinals as he was the main culprit for multiple turnovers. Once the Cardinals realized that Bradford wasn’t playing like a 20 million dollar man, they rolled the dice on their first-round selection by throwing Rosen into the fire against a tough Chicago defense.
How Did Rosen Do?
The Cardinals tried something different, but it didn’t work. Rosen came onto the field in a tough situation and got the ultimate rookie experience. Not precisely the Baker Mayfield type of experience, but it was the type of experience that will force Rosen and the Cardinals to learn from mistakes. In other words, it probably wasn’t a great idea to put Rosen in to attempt a late-game comeback.
The rookie completed four of his seven attempted passes for 36 yards. He was welcomed to the NFL on his first drive by throwing an interception. Fortunately for the Cardinals, they had three timeouts to work with in order to save the clock. But Rosen’s second chance didn’t go all that well, either. The Cardinals ended up losing 16-14. Now, Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks is left with a tough decision next week.
Who Will Start Week Four?
Rosen’s late-game struggles left the Cardinals coaching staff questioning their quarterback situation moving forward. Many people want to know. Will the Cardinals give Bradford his fourth, and final chance this season? Or is it finally time for the future franchise quarterback to take control of the offense for the remainder of the year?
As expected, the Cardinals are not committed to either quarterback just yet. Considering that Rosen hasn’t had first-team snaps in practice all season, it most likely leaves the Cardinals very curious about what would happen if he was prepared to start heading into gameday. So, the book isn’t closed on Bradford just yet. But the team’s decision during Sunday’s game was very telling. It might be Rosen time in Arizona.