Getty Josh Rosen #3 of the Arizona Cardinals runs with the ball in front of Cory Littleton #58 of the Los Angeles Rams.
You’d think the quarterback the Cardinals drafted in the 1st round a year ago would feature heavily in any team promotional material. Right? That wasn’t the case with Josh Rosen, whom Arizona drafted No. 10 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
When schedules were released yesterday, the 6-foot-4 signal-caller out of UCLA did not appear (except for maybe .06 seconds) in the Cardinals hype video trying to drum up fans to start thinking about buying tickets.
The Arizona Cardinals just didn’t put Josh Rosen in their season hype video 🤔🤔🤔 @LacesOutShow
After throwing for just 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season, Rosen has been the subject of many a trade rumor. The Cardinals hold the No. 1 pick, which new head coach Kliff Kingsbury could use on Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray.
While the confidence that Murray will be selected 1st is shaking (per CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco), it still hasn’t slowed the Rosen trade talks. Let’s take a look at the latest rumors.
Josh Rosen Trade Rumors
Joel Corry wrote for CBS Sports that Rosen would be a “bargain financially” for teams trying to draft quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
Rosen’s last three years of his rookie contract cost approximately $6.24 million, which is 35.5 percent of his deal’s total value. The trade would still allow the acquiring team to exercise the fifth-year option with first-round picks (the 2022 season, in Rosen’s case). Rosen’s 2019 through 2021 cap numbers for the acquiring team would be $1,279,898, $2,079,796 and $2,879,694, which are also his remaining yearly salaries.
Compared to the projected four-year contracts 2019 first round picks should sign under the NFL rookie wage scale, Rosen is a bargain financially.
Corry then charts the max rookie deals for different teams thinking about taking quarterbacks. The most expensive on the chart is the New York Giants at the No. 6 pick, which would cost them $25.67 million for a 4-year deal. The Cardinals will want to strike while the iron’s hot here, since Rosen’s subpar season, plus various personality concerns brought up during last year’s Combine, are depreciating his value.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell suggested that the Redskins, who recently added Case Keenum to the quarterback room as insurance for a battered Alex Smith, would be open to bringing in Rosen. Per an interview with 98.7 FM:
Barnwell has Rosen going to the Washington Redskins along with Arizona’s No. 33 selection in exchange for Washington’s first-round pick at 15th overall…
…or Barnwell sends Cardinals defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, Redskins tight end Jordan Reed and Washington’s second-round pick to the New England Patriots. The Patriots add the draft pick spice, giving the Cardinals No. 32 overall at the end of the first round while the Redskins acquire Rosen and a fourth-round pick.
This would suggest a bit of desperation on Washington’s part, as it would indicate owner Dan Snyder just wants to throw bodies at the quarterback situation after Alex Smith went down last year with a potentially career-ending compound leg fracture. Throwing money at problems, quite frankly, is something Snyder has done for the majority of his tenure in the nation’s capital.
Expect more smoke to the Rosen trade rumors fire as we approach the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25.
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