Josh Rosen had his moments as a rookie with the Cardinals

The former first-round draft pick was not a complete failure as a rookie quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals back in 2018

This past Thursday, the Arizona Cardinals signed quarterback Kyler Murray to a long-awaited contract extension. It’s a massive deal that could pay the first-overall pick of the 2019 draft a whopping $230.5 million over the next six years.

Just one day later, former Cards signal-caller Josh Rosen accepted a one-year offer from the Cleveland Browns. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but there’s a fairly decent possibility that the former first-round draft selection received no more than the veteran minimum.

Three years have passed since Cardinals general manager Steve Keim did something that would mostly be considered “taboo” in the NFL world. Just one year after drafting Rosen with the 10th-overall choice, Keim jettisoned the highly-touted prospect for the dynamic Murray.

It was a risky move that may have ruined the career of an individual who many believed would be Arizona’s starting signal-caller for years to come.

Following his dismissal from the Redbirds after just one campaign, Rosen has bounced around the league like an NBA basketball. Besides stints with the Cards and now the Browns, the 25-year-old has also spent time with the Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.

Josh Rosen did his best for an Arizona Cardinals offense that was the NFL’s worst back in 2018

Rosen may have gotten a bad rap for his one and only season with the Cardinals. In fact, the former UCLA product may have been doomed from the start thanks to head coach Steve Wilks’ decision to allow unimaginative offensive coordinator Mike McCoy to guide the scoring attack.

In all honesty, Rosen’s first year as a professional passer wasn’t a complete failure. Against considerable odds, the 6-foot 4, 226-pounder managed to play well at times while leading the league’s most ineffective offense.

The youngster’s first victory as a pro came in October of ’18 when Rosen led Arizona to a 28-18 triumph over the 49ers. A picture-perfect bomb to fellow rookie Christian Kirk that covered 75 yards was simply a thing of beauty.

Three weeks later, Rosen guided his teammates to an 18-15 win over San Francisco that completed a season sweep of the club’s division rival. A scintillating fourth-quarter comeback was highlighted by touchdown passes to both Larry Fitzgerald and Kirk.

On November 18th, Rosen was credited with three scoring tosses for the first (and only) time of his pro career during a 23-21 loss to the Oakland Raiders. The California native made good on just nine of his throws that day, but 33.3% of those completions resulted in Cardinal touchdowns.

Rosen’s crowning achievement for the Cardinals occurred on December 2nd when he paced the team to a 20-17 victory over a heavily-favored Green Bay Packers group. The triumph over Aaron Rodgers at historic Lambeau Field is something that Rosen can brag to his grandchildren about when he reminisces about his days as an NFL starter.

A majority of Arizona fans would not disagree with the shakeup at the quarterback position three years ago that brought Murray to the desert. Nevertheless, there’s also a segment of the “Red Sea” who would argue that Rosen was never given a fair shake by the Cardinals organization.