Josh Rosen is the Cardinals’ QB ‘right now, for sure,’ Keim says

Steve Keim, Kliff Kingsbury and the Arizona Cardinals are keeping the Kyler Murray-Josh Rosen drama alive.

Be it to entertain themselves by toying with the media or because they actually believe it’ll help build value around their No. 1 overall pick, the Cardinals general manager and head coach didn’t try too hard Wednesday at the NFL Draft Combine to bury their possible infatuation with the Oklahoma quarterback.

Or maybe they really might consider drafting Murray to lead off the draft.

“Is Josh Rosen our quarterback? Yeah, he is right now, for sure,” Keim said, repeating a reporter’s question before adding the key qualifier.

It’s too early, the GM added, to know whether Murray or anyone else would be under consideration for the No. 1 pick. The combine process is just beginning as of Wednesday. But Keim said the thought of taking a second quarterback in the first round for consecutive years is something Arizona must address — taking Murray, an out-of-the-box prototype, included.

“As you grow in this process and you open your eyes, you really have a better understanding that, number one, 10 years ago, there weren’t any comps that a 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-9ish quarterback could not only play at this level and have success,” Keim told Bickley & Marotta on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “Now that’s changed.  We’re a business that really looks at comps and we try to sort of pattern things after what others have done.”

Keim even brought up Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins as a potential consideration for the No. 1 pick.

Kingsbury did his own work to stand behind the Cardinals’ current quarterback, Rosen. But he also expressed that he’s a fan of Murray, a player from Texas he recruited and got to know while Kingsbury was head coach at Texas Tech.

“The fascinating thing with Kyler is he is the quickest player on the field, at the quarterback position,” Kingsbury told Good Morning Football in an interview Wednesday. “His dad is a tremendous kind of quarterback guru in our state, in Texas, and he’s developed him to be a great pocket-passer as well. You kind of combine those two things and it’s a lot to handle.

“I mean, he’s a tremendous talent. I’ve thought that since his high school days. Been a big fan, excited to see how this process goes for him.”

Kingsbury, who in October as Texas Tech’s head coach said he’d draft Murray No. 1 overall, added that Rosen “knows where he stands with us.”

“He’s a tremendous talent,” Kingsbury added. “And he knows its a business as well. These things are going to come up — all part of the process.”

In front of a scrum of reporters, Kingsbury said his offense isn’t a poor fit for more pro-style, pocket-passing quarterbacks like Rosen.

“We’re big on adapting our offense to our quarterback and our personnel. We’ve had all types in this system,” he said. “I don’t think that is very relevant. ”

Murray added to the potential union between him …

“I think, me and him are really tight,” Murray said, per the Star-Telegram. “Great relationship with him. I think that was just something … he’s always felt strongly about me as a player and as a kid off the field. I think they’re kind words. At the end of the day, they’re going to do what’s best for them. I can’t go into it with any expectations of being taken by the Cardinals. That would be nice for sure.”

Follow 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s Bickley & Marotta, who will be broadcasting live from the NFL Draft Combine this week.

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