Cardinals trade with Raiders, select QB Josh Rosen in 2018 NFL Draft
Apr 26, 2018, 6:14 PM | Updated: 9:44 pm
UCLA's Josh Rosen, right, poses with commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Arizona Cardinals during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 26, 2018, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The Arizona Cardinals have their quarterback of the future. General manager Steve Keim traded up from 15th to the No. 10 pick in a deal with the Oakland Raiders to select former UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Arizona also dealt its third round pick (79th overall) and fifth round pick (152nd) in the trade.
Cards felt Miami would take Rosen at 11 and that there were two other teams also interested in moving up so therefore they got aggressive to move up.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) April 27, 2018
“I’m so excited. I just want to get on the field,” Rosen told Deion Sanders after putting on a Cardinals cap. “The chip is only growing growing bigger.”
Rosen was the fourth quarterback selected in the draft after Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (first overall to Cleveland), USC’s Sam Darnold (third to the New York Jets) and Wyoming’s Josh Allen (seventh to Buffalo).
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Rosen started as a true freshman in 2015, throwing for 3,670 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 60 percent of his passes. He was named Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and a Freshman All-American.
He would only play in six games in 2016, missing the rest of the season due to a right shoulder injury. Rosen had surgery done on the shoulder to repair soft-tissue damage.
In 2017, Rosen suffered a concussion in the eighth game of the year against Washington. He missed one game and would start the rest, including the season finale when he had his second concussion against Cal and was ruled out the rest of the game. Still dealing with concussion symptoms, Rosen elected to sit out of the team’s bowl game after declaring for the NFL Draft.
Seen as arguably the top quarterback for some of the 2018 NFL Draft process, Rosen’s injuries and his outspokenness are the main concerns that saw him fall out of the top spot.
Rosen has consistently been against the NCAA’s amateurism rules, speaking out against UCLA signing a $280 million deal with Under Armour and claiming that “football and school don’t go together.” He also made a post on Instagram in April of 2016 where he was golfing while wearing a hat that said “(Expletive) Trump.”
With Sam Bradford signed to a one-year deal with a team option and backup quarterback Mike Glennon, the Cardinals have the veteran quarterbacks inline to steady the ship while Arizona grooms Rosen into its long-term quarterback.
