Vikings Sign Former 1st-Round QB

The Minnesota Vikings have restocked their quarterback cabinet.

Minnesota signed former Arizona Cardinals first-round pick Josh Rosen to the practice squad on Tuesday, December 20, per a team release. He fills the void left by David Blough, who was signed off the practice squad by the Cardinals last week.

Selected 10^th overall by the Cardinals in the 2018 draft, Rosen appeared in 14 games (13 starts) and completed 217-of-393 passes for 2,278 yards and 11 touchdowns in his rookie campaign.

He was traded to the Miami Dolphins the next offseason and has since had stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, and Atlanta Falcons. He was most recently with the Cleveland Browns but was waived on October 10, the day Deshaun Watson became eligible to return to team activities.

Rosen slots in as the third quarterback behind starter Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens.

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Josh Rosen Has Played Behind Some of the Worst O-Lines In His Career

Yes, Rosen is not the first or even second choice to start 17 games next season, however, he’s a veteran quarterback with playing experience who hasn’t seen the right circumstances to succeed in his career.

When Rosen was with the Falcons in 2021, his line ranked second-to-last in pass blocking with a 52.4 Pro Football Focus grade.

His rookie year was even worse.

The Cardinals posted a 55.7 pass-blocking grade, the worst mark in the NFL. Arizona wisely traded Rosen and drafted Kyler Murray No. 1 overall the next season as a quarterback whose mobility could overcome their offensive line’s deficiencies.

While Rosen’s ceiling may not be worth the No. 10 overall pick that landed him in the league, he is a veteran journeyman who can add value to the quarterback room and in a pinch execute an offense with a play caller who compliments his quarterback like Kevin O’Connell

In three seasons at UCLA, Rosen completed 712-of-1,170 passes (60.9% completion) for a total of 9,370 passing yards and 59 touchdowns.

“Simply put, Rosen was a well-regarded prospect coming out of UCLA for a reason,” SB Nation’s Davis Howman wrote. “He was considered highly intelligent and fundamentally sound, two important factors for a quarterback.”

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Vikings Looking at Future QB in CFL Star Nathan Rourke

On December 19, the Vikings had CFL star quarterback Nathan Rourke in for a tryout Rourke, 24, is expected to field “multiple offers” from the NFL after a sensational CFL season where he completed 78.7 percent of his pass attempts for 3,349 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also ran the football 39 times for 304 yards and seven scores, becoming the first quarterback to win the league’s Most Outstanding Canadian award since 1980.

Rourke has worked out for eight different NFL teams this month and is expected to sign a futures contract in January.

Rogers Sportsnet national reporter Arash Madani, sharing news of the tryout in Minnesota, said Rourke would be a significant upgrade over Mullens.

“Nathan Rourke would be such n upgrade over Nick Mullens, now the back-up in the Vikes QB room,” Madani tweeted. “I’ll leave the incumbent in Minnesota out of this for once.”

Despite the prospective boost Rourke would bring to the quarterback room, it’s a play for the 2023 season as he cannot be signed midseason, per KSTP’s Darren Wolfson.

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