NFL Rumors: Cardinals Considering ‘At Least Two Offers’ For Quarterback Josh Rosen
With the 2019 NFL Draft coming up in a few weeks, the Arizona Cardinals are expected to use their No. 1 overall pick on Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, one year after they selected Josh Rosen in the first round. While Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury had recently praised Rosen’s abilities to the press, as noted by SNY, rumors continue to swirl around the former UCLA product, suggesting that he may be headed elsewhere for the 2019 NFL season.
The latest such rumors come from Bleacher Report‘s Matt Miller, who wrote on Friday that the Cardinals’ purported plans to draft Murray first overall have been the “worst-kept secret” in the NFL since the start of the year, and that Kingsbury “wants” the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner on his team. Miller also quoted an unnamed AFC executive, who told him this week that Arizona has received “at least two offers” for Rosen, but has yet to accept them, as the Cardinals are hoping to get “as close [as possible]” to a first-round pick in return.
“They’re hoping the closer to the draft we get, some team is going to realize they will miss out on [Dwayne] Haskins or [Drew] Lock… or just remember that Rosen is better than either of them… and pony up a late first-rounder,” the executive was quoted as saying.
As the No. 10 pick in last year’s NFL Draft, Josh Rosen went through some growing pains in his rookie campaign, as the Cardinals ended the 2018 season with a league-worst 3-13 win-loss record, per Sporting News. The 22-year-old signal-caller threw for 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and completed just 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards. As seen on Pro Football Reference‘s rankings, Rosen also had the lowest QB rating (66.7) last season among qualified quarterbacks.
An AFC executive told @nfldraftscout the Cardinals have gotten at least two offers for Josh Rosen but they want to “save face,” holding out for a first-rounder.
Full scouting notebook: https://t.co/lAsqmEIjl4 pic.twitter.com/Ispkcrb3Pb
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 5, 2019
While Bleacher Report‘s Miller did not mention the teams that had supposedly made offers for Rosen, the aforementioned report from SNY hinted late last month that the New York Giants were considering trading for him as a potential heir apparent to Eli Manning, who turned 38 earlier this year. The defending champion New England Patriots have also been mentioned as a potential suitor, with NBC Sports noting that the team may need a “quarterback of the future” to take over from 41-year-old starter Tom Brady.
Much like the Giants and Patriots, the Los Angeles Chargers have an aging starting quarterback in 37-year-old Philip Rivers, and have been brought up as one of the teams purportedly interested in Rosen’s services. Per SB Nation‘s Bolts from the Blue, the Chargers were reportedly the only team as of late March to offer a second-round pick to the Cardinals in exchange for Rosen, though the outlet also noted that Arizona was, at that time, hoping to get a first-rounder.
