Two years ago, the Cardinals inked their quarterback of the future. At least, they hoped they were getting their quarterback of the future when they signed No. 10 overall pick Josh Rosen. 
[RELATED: No. 1 Pick Joe Burrow On His Contract]
The Cardinals’ quarterback search was an open secret, one that dragged for years. In 2017, they tried and failed to trade up for Patrick Mahomes – who went No. 10 overall to the Chiefs – leading them to settle for Haason Reddick at No. 13. This time around, they didn’t want to walk out of the 2018 draft with “what-ifs,” so they traded up from No. 15 to the No. 10 pick for Rosen, a promising young passer out of UCLA. .
Most evaluators viewed Rosen as the most polished and most NFL-ready passer in the entire class. There was a lot to like, especially after Rosen threw for 59 touchdowns over the course of three college seasons and saved his best for last. As a junior, Rosen turned in the best TD/INT ratio of his career (26/10) and his best completion rate (62.5%).
Rosen’s talent was apparent – he didn’t have a cannon for an arm, but his technique and footwork were virtually flawless. He was also an all around bright kid, though some evaluators wondered if he was too brainy for his own good. Curiously, his own head coach was among the nay-sayers.
“Because of fit, I would take Sam Darnold if I were the Cleveland Browns,” said Jim Mora, advocating for another QB over his own pupil. “I think that blue collar, gritty attitude, I think his teammates will love him, I think the city will love him. He’ll say the right things. He will come in and he will represent well. I think he kind of represents what Cleveland is. And if I was one of the New York teams, I would take Josh *snap* just like that. I think they will both be great in the pros.”
Later on, Mora backtracked, but only slightly.
“He needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn’t get bored,” Mora said a few weeks before the draft. “He’s a millennial. He wants to know why. Millennials, once they know why, they’re good. Josh has a lot of interests in life. If you can hold his concentration level and focus only on football for a few years, he will set the world on fire. He has so much ability, and he’s a really good kid.”
Ultimately, the Browns chose the brash confidence of Baker Mayfield over the “gritty attitude” of Sam Darnold. So far, both QBs have greatly outperformed Rosen at the pro level (though, nothing like the No. 32 overall pick, Lamar Jackson).
Rosen went 3-10 as the Cardinals’ starter as a rookie, completing just 55.2% of his throws with 11 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. A deeper look at Rosen’s rookie stats and metrics don’t do him any favors, either. Rosen completed 55% of his throws and averaged just 5.8 yards per attempt. He also finished with a league-worst 26.1 Total QBR and Football Outsiders listed him as the league’s worst full-time quarterback.
Midway through the year, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy got the heave-ho. After the season, head coach Steve Wilks was sent packing. Ditto for Rosen – just one year after the Cardinals selected him, they drafted his replacement in Kyler Murray. All three men would probably point to the Cardinals’ abysmal offensive line as a major factor, but that didn’t save any of their jobs.
Rosen hoped for a fresh start after he was traded to the Dolphins, but he floundered in his three starts and finished the year with one touchdown vs. five picks. Now, with Tua Tagovailoa and Ryan Fitzpatrick firmly entrenched on the roster, Rosen is once again in NFL limbo.
ugh
Looks like he’ll stick around in Miami (unless miraculously traded) by virtue of his salary and cap hits. I may be looking at his contract details wrong, but it looks like he’ll get $2.1 million in 2020 and $3.05 million in 2021. His cap hit for 2020 is $4.9 million if he’s released.
For 2021, it’s possible Tua is firmly in place and Fitzpatrick is retired. His cap hit is $2.9 million if released, so they’d only save ~$150,000. So maybe he sticks with Miami for the next two years?
link to spotrac.com
Here’s the link if anyone is interested.
Thanks for adding the link.
At first, those numbers looked a little weird until I realized that Arizona had to eat the signing bonus as a dead cap hit when they traded him.
As his salary numbers show, he’s a reasonably priced backup for the next two years if he can provide enough competence over that span. If not, cut him loose.
to be fair he hasnt truly got a fair shot. he lasted one year and than got ship for murry. than nothing has really happen with maimi. if only one team actually try to give him a chance he might do something. if not we will never know what might of been
I can’t speak for his time in Arizona, but in Miami they wanted him to succeed he just failed to take advantage of the opportunity. He was god awful in the games he played and never improved enough in practice to earn a second chance. Fitzpatrick is no road block. Sure, he needs time to learn a system, but if you want to be a starter in this league you need to at least show improvement if the results aren’t there.
Same guys have Burrow as a hofer before he ever plays a snap.
If the Bruins are smart they will let someone besides Mora do the recruiting. Liked his dad, who at least provided us with that great playoffs? quote.
More is a poster child for nepotism. He is garbage, but daddy was successful so he gets every opportunity possible.
Chip Kelly is the coach at UCLA now. They fired Mora.
if your thinking mora still the ucla coach he not. he hasnt coach the team in idk how many years. chip kelly the coach and has been the past few seasons
Headed to N.E.
Seems like a logical fit