Dolphins fielding trade offers for Josh Rosen

Josh Rosen’s career has gotten off to a rocky start, this much we know.

Now, it appears that Rosen may yet again be thrown for a loop, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the Miami Dolphins are fielding trade offers for the former first-round draft pick. Teams are expected to begin shaping their final rosters this weekend as training camp comes to a close, and the mandatory 53-man roster cutdown is just around the corner. With so many players about to be on the move, Rosen may soon be among that bunch.

After being drafted 10th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, Rosen had just one season to prove that he was the guy before a new regime came in and decided that Kyler Murray was to be Arizona’s quarterback of the future. In that one season, Rosen couldn’t have been more set up for failure (well, until he got to Miami). In his one season with the Cardinals, Rosen was given a depleted skill position group, a mid-season change in offensive coordinator, and turnstiles for an offensive line. He responded, understandably, with a subpar stat line of 2278 passing yards, a 55.2% completion rate, 11 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

Following the selection of Kyler Murray first overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Cardinals traded Rosen to the Dolphins in exchange for a second-round pick. Now in Miami, Rosen was expected to have a fresh start, but that idea was simply a pipe dream. Rosen was equally set up for failure with the Dolphins. At the time, Miami’s roster was in even more turmoil than Arizona’s had been one season before. The Dolphins were just about to commit themselves to a full tear-down by trading away several talented players, including stud left tackle Laremy Tunsil, wide receiver Kenny Stills, and running back Kenyan Drake.

Now on a new team learning a new system and with little support, Rosen floundered in a quarterback competition with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. He played in just six games with the Dolphins and recorded only three starts. During the 2019 season, Rosen threw for 567 yards, a 53.2% completion rate, one touchdown, and five interceptions. Following Rosen’s tumultuous first season in Miami, the Dolphins drafted a new quarterback of the future in Tua Tagovailoa. With Fitzpatrick set to start the upcoming season as Miami’s no. 1 guy, and with Tagovailoa clearly set up to soon take Fitzpatrick’s place, Rosen is the odd man out.

According to all reports, Tagovailoa’s progression in training camp has gone well despite a lack of preseason games with which to acclimate, and he’s looking fully healthy after a serious hip injury suffered during his senior season in Alabama. There may simply not be a need for Rosen in Miami anymore. It’s possible the Dolphins front office chooses to keep Rosen on barring a considerable offer as a buffer just in case Fitzpatrick is injured and the coaching staff is hesitant to throw Tagovailoa into a game behind a young and still-developing offensive line. However, given Schefter’s report, Rosen’s time with the Dolphins appears to be coming to a close.

Wherever he ends up, here’s to hoping he gets a fair shot to truly show what he can do as a passer. We all know he’s yet to get one in stops one and two.