New England Patriots should steer clear of Josh Rosen for now
Given the current state of their roster and quarterbacks room, the New England Patriots would be wise to tune out rumors that link them to Josh Rosen.
Rumors continue to swirl around the New England Patriots and two particular NFL quarterbacks — only one of whom is technically even available.
Cam Newton has officially been unemployed for over two months now since the Carolina Panthers released him. Linked to the Patriots even before he was cut from the Panthers roster, many well-respected analysts believe it’s nonsensical that New England hasn’t pounced on Newton yet.
To be fair, no one has pounced on Newton yet. There are 31 other teams in the league that also could have made a move for the former NFL MVP, and so far, no one has.
I wrote about how the Patriots should proceed with Newton earlier this month, and I maintain that line of thinking today.
The other quarterback that keeps finding his name written or talked about in the same “breath” as the Patriots is 23-year-old Josh Rosen.
Josh Rosen was once considered one of the highest-rated QBs in the land
Once upon a time, Rosen was gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated as “The Rosen One” for the UCLA Bruins. Once upon a time, he was Rivals’ top-rated high school player in the nation. Once upon a time, he was a first-round draft pick, selected No. 10 overall by the Arizona Cardinals back in 2018.
Today, Rosen isn’t even a starting quarterback — not for the Cardinals or for anybody else. He went 3-10 as a rookie starter, completing just over 55% of his passes and tossing 14 interceptions against 11 touchdowns. He was also sacked 45 times that year.
Rosen was unceremoniously dumped in favor of Kyler Murray, getting shipped out to Miami to start the 2019 season. He opened as Ryan Fitzpatrick’s backup but took the starting job in Week 3.
That gig lasted all of three games — by Week 7, Rosen was the backup again (the Dolphins had their bye in Week 5).
Miami has since drafted Tua Tagovailoa, meaning Rosen is currently No. 3 on the depth chart behind Fitzpatrick and Tagovailoa.
Why on earth should the Patriots be interested in the Dolphins’ No. 3 quarterback?
Rosen truthers and supporters will point to the porous offensive lines he’s played behind in Arizona and Miami as the reason for his struggles. To them I reply: Fitzpatrick did just fine last year playing behind that same offensive line, and Murray won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in Arizona last season with the same offensive line there.
Rosen has now played in 20 professional games — 16 of which he’s started. His career completion percentage is below 55%, his career quarterback rating is 63.5, he’s thrown 19 interceptions compared to just 12 touchdowns, he’s taken 61 sacks, and he’s lost 11 fumbles (11 fumbles in 20 games!).
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I’m sure Bill Belichick would love to take a guy like Rosen that the rest of the world has given up on and transform him into a star. Maybe that day will come — but hopefully, it’s not going to come anytime soon.
The New England Patriots need to find out exactly what they have with Jarrett Stidham. If Stidham flops, they turn it over to Brian Hoyer — just like what the Dolphins did when they turned the reins over to Fitzpatrick after Rosen flopped.