Josh Rosen to remain a mystery after report he'll miss Cardinals preseason finale
The NFL preseason has been much about watching the bumper crop of rookie quarterbacks develop.
Sam Darnold appears to have locked up the New York Jets starting job with the trade of Teddy Bridgewater to the New Orleans Saints. Josh Allen has flashed his big arm but spent more time getting beat up behind a porous Buffalo Bills offensive line. Baker Mayfield has done nothing on the field or on Hard Knocks to raise questions about being the No. 1 overall pick.
What do we know about Josh Rosen?
But what about Josh Rosen? Football fans have gotten a good taste of his fellow top 10 picks this preseason, but the Arizona Cardinals rookie remains mostly a mystery.
Rosen has thrown just 29 pass attempts this preseason, and we won’t see him again after a report that he won’t play in Thursday’s preseason finale against the Denver Broncos.
Rosen had hoped to play preseason finale
A thumb injury has limited Rosen’s reps, but he said on Tuesday that he felt ready and hoped to get some playing time this week. So far this preseason, he’s completed 16 of 29 attempts for 148 yards and a touchdown in two games.
“All reps are good reps,” Rosen told reporters. “I’d love to take as many as possible. Obviously, that’s how you get to learn offense best.
“We’ve got different colored jerseys in practice, so you never really fully get a complete rep and throw the ball and get hit and everything. All those are valuable. Obviously you want as many as you can.”
Steve Wilks was considering letting Rosen play
Meanwhile, Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks told reporters Tuesday that he was considering giving Rosen some reps on Thursday.
“He didn’t have a problem as far as taking it underneath the center, the snap,” Wilks said. “I thought his execution was on point, so it’s still up in the air whether I want to play him. I want him to go through the week and see how he feels, and I’ll make that decision on game day.”
Something apparently convinced Wilks otherwise on Wednesday.
Rosen’s hungry to play. But that opportunity won’t come unless quarterbacks ahead of him face injury in the regular season. With Sam Bradford as the starter in Arizona, that’s not the unlikeliest of scenarios.
But with such little seasoning at this point, it seems the Cardinals would be best served to count 2018 as a year for Rosen to develop from the bench.
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