ESPN’s Graziano: Giants could consider pursing Cards QB Josh Rosen

There’s a lot we don’t know about the future of Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen.

Within a whirlwind few weeks since the NFL Draft Combine, the second-year quarterback’s future has been flip-turned upside down based on what? Speculation and assumptions that Arizona will draft Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray first overall, making last year’s No. 10 pick redundant and expendable.

In case the juicy rumors become reality, questions about Rosen’s future must be asked first. NFL teams are certainly following the rumor-mill and keeping Rosen in mind.

Which ones might want to consider pursuing him if all this ends up being true?

Among teams with aging veteran quarterbacks, the New York Giants appear to be the team with the most urgency as they search for a replacement for Eli Manning. ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote that sources told him New York would potentially “explore a trade” for Rosen down the line.

“They know they have to find a successor for Eli Manning, they know they have to find that soon,” Graziano said on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Doug & Wolf. “They’re in a bit of a bind and I don’t think they’re 100 percent sure … what they’re going to do just yet.

“In terms of Rosen, my understanding is, first of all, they don’t know if he’s available yet,” Graziano added. “I don’t think the Cardinals are that far down the road on this with anybody … People in that organization, the Giants, have said that they definitely had a first-round grade on Rosen last year. Obviously they were looking at quarterbacks last year.”

If Arizona eventually opens up to a trade, the Giants’ aggression in pursuing a trade for Rosen would come down to price, Graziano said.

Even then, New York, like most teams, isn’t sold on Rosen. The franchise isn’t sure if a better option could come with the No. 6 or No. 17 pick in this year’s draft.

The Giants also don’t know if a move must be made this offseason. They still have the 38-year-old Manning under contract for one more year.

As for Rosen, we don’t know how the Cardinals view him beyond what they’ve said publicly. And there could be smokescreens coming out of what they’ve said.

Head coach Kliff Kingsbury called Rosen “our guy” in mid-February. At the combine, Cardinals GM Steve Keim offered little certainty, probably on purpose.

“Is Josh Rosen our quarterback? Yeah, he is right now, for sure,” Keim said.

Objectively, it’s hard to judge Rosen based on his rookie season. He completed just 55 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 14 games.

That said, Rosen played behind an injury-battered offensive line, without but one experienced receiver and for two offensive coordinators — the first of whom didn’t find ways to get the ball to Arizona’s best weapons and the second of whom had to call plays within the confines of what his predecessor set up.

That leads to a lot of uncertainty. If the Cardinals agree with that uncertainty, what’s to say they shouldn’t trust their evaluation that led to them trading up to draft Rosen a year ago?

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