NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Add one more team to Josh Rosen’s vendetta.
On the day the Cardinals rolled out the red carpet for No. 1 pick Kyler Murray’s arrival in Arizona, his predecessor was left packing his bags for Miami. The Dolphins finally pulled Rosen out of his awkward situation and traded the No. 62 pick — the 20th selection in Friday’s second round — for the quarterback and the Cardinals’ 2020 fifth-round pick, according to multiple reports.
Rosen was the No. 10-overall pick by the Cardinals last year, prompting the UCLA product to boast that “there were nine mistakes made ahead of me.” That list undoubtedly now will include the Cardinals, who only gave him a season to prove he could be their franchise quarterback.
After taking over the starting job in Week 4, Rosen finished the year completing 217-of-393 passes for 2,277 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. His offensive coordinator, Mike McCoy, was fired after a Week 7 loss, and his first-year head coach, Steve Wilks, was fired the day after the season ended.
“Bottom line, Josh is a really good football player and we’re not going to get into the business of letting good football players just walk out of here,” general manager Steve Keim, who traded up five spots last year to draft Rosen, told reporters in Arizona Thursday night.
Following the script of any bad breakup in the hours after Thursday’s first round, Rosen reportedly unfollowed the Cardinals on his social media accounts. He did not hear from the team until head coach Kliff Kingsbury called him minutes after Murray was informed in the green room he would be taken No. 1, Sports Illustrated reported.
The Cardinals may have lost some leverage Thursday night, not only by taking Murray but then also seeing two other potential suitors, the Giants and Redskins, draft quarterbacks in Daniel Jones and Dwayne Haskins, respectively.
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman confirmed he reached out to the Cardinals and told them he might have an interest “if things happen,” but that went out the window after picking Jones at No. 6.
The Dolphins, meanwhile, signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to be their placeholder earlier this offseason after Ryan Tannehill’s uneven run finally sputtered out. Brock Osweiler also got a chance to win the job last year, but could not deliver.
Rosen’s arrival in Miami puts three of the top four quarterbacks taken in the 2018 draft in the AFC East, joining Sam Darnold (No. 3, Jets) and Josh Allen (No. 7, Bills). Tom Brady, meanwhile, is beginning the hunt for a ring to fit on his seventh finger while further defying Father Time.