Vikings Sign QB Josh Rosen, a Former Top 10 Pick, to Practice Squad
Josh Frey
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After the Arizona Cardinals snatched QB David Blough off the Minnesota Vikings practice squad in the wake of Kyler Murray’s season-ending ACL tear, the Vikings were left without a QB3 behind Kirk Cousins and Nick Mullens. In order to fill that need, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has turned to one of the more infamous top picks in recent memory: Josh Rosen.
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Rosen was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 10th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft after a rather successful collegiate career with UCLA. Over the course of three years, he threw for a total of 9340 yards, 59 TDs, and 26 INTs.
With the recent departure of longtime QB Carson Palmer, Arizona was looking for their next franchise QB, and Rosen was the pick.
However, Rosen’s pro career didn’t start out nearly as well as Arizona had hoped. In his rookie season of 2018, he started 13 games, and the Cardinals went 3-10 in those games. He threw for 2278 yards, 11 TDs, and 14 INTs. Less than stellar numbers, especially for a top 10 pick.
The Cardinals seemed to be unimpressed as well because in an almost unprecedented move, they traded away their QB to the Miami Dolphins after just one single season. Then, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 Draft, they once again opted for a QB. This time, they were much more successful by taking Kyler Murray.
During that 2019 season in Miami, Rosen played six games, including three starts. In those three starts, the Dolphins went 0-3, and overall, the second year QB passed for 567 yards, a touchdown, and 5 interceptions. Once again, he was the product of some very underwhelming statistics.
Since that 2019 season, Rosen has spent time with the San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and Cleveland Browns. He did not appear in any regular season games during 2020, but he appeared in four games for the Falcons in 2021. He completed 2-of-11 passes in that season for 19 yards, no touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions.
During the 2022 preseason, he found himself in a battle to backup Jacoby Brissett with the Browns. Brissett found himself in a starting role after the Browns traded for Deshaun Watson, who was set to miss the first 11 games due to his suspension, and Cleveland had already traded their disgruntled QB Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers.
In three preseason games, Rosen’s problems with accuracy continued (in his regular season career, he has completed just 54% of his passes), but he did not cause any turnovers. Overall, he completed 17-of-33 passes for 186 yards. Once again, he did not have any touchdown passes, but no interceptions seemed like a step in the right direction.
In the end, though, Cleveland waived him, and after he went unclaimed, they stashed him on their practice squad. On October 10th, the Browns released Rosen off their practice squad, and he remained a free agent until December 20th when the Vikings signed him.
Now, Rosen finds himself in a situation where he can potentially continue his development behind veteran QB Cousins as well as Vikings head coach and former NFL QB Kevin O’Connell. It is very unlikely that the Vikings will put him into any games this season, unless disastrous injuries occur to both Cousins and Mullens, but perhaps he can end up being another training camp body ahead of the 2023 season.
Editor’s note: Statistics from Pro-Football-Reference and The Football Database helped with this piece.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.