5 optimistic Josh Rosen trade packages
By Avery Duncan
Josh Rosen could be on the trade block, and despite having a limited sample size and rocky rookie season, the Cardinals could get excellent value for him.
As Kevin Garnett would say, anything’s possible. And until the Arizona Cardinals pass on Kyler Murray or trade down from the first overall, there is a possibility (albeit slim) that Steve Keim ships Josh Rosen off to another team while his value is still high.
The Jimmy Garroppolo trade is a good reference to try to pull together Rosen’s trade value. As the Patriots got a high second rounder for a promising Tom Brady backup in a contract year. Ultimately, what the Patriots received was less than hoped, as the rumor stands, Kraft pushed for a trade and Belichick ultimately sent him to the team that he thought he could thrive in — the 49ers.
But Rosen is ultimately in a different situation than Garroppolo; he’s younger than Garrappolo was (22 vs 25), he was a highly tauted prospect coming into the draft and was even considered the number one pick, and he hasn’t played for Belichick, which can often decrease a players trade value due to a history of players overperforming at New England then regressing while leaving.
Although he didn’t perform well in his first NFL season (2,278 yds, 55.2% completion rate, 11 touchdowns, 14 interceptions), teams will surely consider the lack of talent around him and general mess of the Steve Wilks short era as to why he didn’t have a great season.
Teams would also remind themselves of the career revivals that Jared Goff and Mitchell Trubisky had when they were placed in an offense built for them — which may not be Kingsbury’s shotgun centric offense in Rosen’s case as he is a pro-style, under center prototype.
Josh Rosen’s first career TD also is Chad Williams’ first career TD. #BeRedSeeRed pic.twitter.com/KHkhD804op
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) September 30, 2018
If the Cardinals shop him, there should be multiple teams bidding for his services as not everyone will have the chance to get Kyler Murray, Dwayne Haskins, Drew Locke, or Daniel Jones in the 2019 draft. In turn, his value could increase due to the potential of multiple teams contending to acquire his services.