Rosen Is Not An All Or Nothing Proposition

With one Joshua Ballinger Lippincott Rosen (I swear I love that name) having started the past two games for the Miami Dolphins, and actually playing pretty well in both of them, in my humble opinion, the rhetoric on both sides of the Josh Rosen debate has predictably reached a feverish crescendo here on the Phinsider, as well as other places.

The only thing I’m sure of at this point -- and I was sure about this when Miami traded for Rosen on draft day -- is that under absolutely no circumstances will the Dolphins stand pat at quarterback next offseason, and not add at least one more player at the position, which will almost certainly come by way of a first round draft pick, to at least give Rosen some competition, if not push for a starting job outright.

I think pretty much everybody here knows that if I say something that maybe rubs some folks the wrong way or that they vehemently disagree with, it’s not done with the intention of upsetting them; I just have a tendency to write whatever my opinion happens to be. As I’ve said previously, Rosen seems to have that tendency, as well, which is just one more reason why I really like the kid. All of that being said, you have to love the way the ‘Rose-A-Maniacs’ will alternately devalue or pump up the late second round pick the Dolphins gave up to get him, depending on which narrative they’re trying to promote at a given moment. What I mean by that is, when they’re showering Grier and company with praise for acquiring the quarterback so cheaply, it’s, ‘Wow... look how cheap a price we paid for the tenth player picked in last year’s draft!’, but when someone inevitably tells them that there is virtually no way Miami does not take a quarterback in the draft next year, and that they could very well select one with the first couple of picks overall, it’s, ‘What? Are you kidding... you want the Dolphins to just blow all that draft capital they spent on Rosen?’ At the risk of stating the obvious, you cannot have it both ways.

Two of our columnists right here on this site, both of whom I greatly respect, Josh Houtz and Kat_Noa, both have written recently that they expect the Dolphins to take a quarterback with the first overall pick next April. Said Kathleen: ‘The fact that some fans are still arguing this whole “Build around Rosen and no QB could play behind this O-line is just embarrassing now. Just stop.’, and ‘If we get the number one pick we will be getting a QB. Accept it.’ I knew I liked her, from the first day she showed up here. Kat gets it. Although I’m not necessarily sure the Dolphins will take a quarterback with their first pick in round one, because they could still trade the pick for a boatload of other draft picks -- which seems to be the main argument the Rose-A-Maniacs like to use as their reasoning for not taking a QB -- I am sure that Miami will take a quarterback at some point in next year’s first round.

We as fans need to view Josh Rosen for exactly what he is: a great acquisition by our outstanding general manager, Mr. Grier. That’s what Josh Rosen represents at this point, a great pickup. After trading Ryan Tannehill, the Dolphins needed a younger, cheaper quarterback, and being a good general manager, Grier found one that was available and brought him to South Florida without overpaying for him. But being a great acquisition and being a great quarterback are two very different things. And by no means am I suggesting that Rosen can’t eventually become a great quarterback, only that he isn’t great right now. Even if he were playing behind the Dallas Cowboys’ OL, he still wouldn’t be great right now, and it’s not as if the Dolphins don’t have a lot draft picks and can’t afford to spend one of them on another quarterback. I still think Rosen could end up as the long term starter at QB for the Dolphins, but if he does, he’s going to have to beat out at least one other young guy to do it. Even if he doesn’t become the long term starter here, he could still have value in trade or as a backup to whomever Miami does bring in that becomes the starter. Either way, Josh Rosen is not an all or nothing, do-or-die proposition for the Dolphins. There was life before Rosen and there will be life after Rosen; the sun will still rise the day after the Dolphins draft another quarterback. That’s the wrap for today, have a great week, everybody.