Guessing Josh Rosen Unlikely
September 5th, 2020
Looking for work.
In a perfect Bucs world, with this biggest and brightest coaching staff and maybe the greatest quarterback to ever live now on the Tampa Bay roster, there might be no better time in NFL history to groom a successor for park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring Tom Brady.
Bucco Bruce Arians doesn’t see it that way.
Arians is firmly believes if you have two quarterbacks you have none.
The very last thing he desires is for anyone like Joe to write a story about how maybe Quarterback-X should be seeing playing time. In Arians’ world you have a starting quarterback. Period. Then you have a backup not to been seen or discussed until there’s an injury. Period.
So when Joe read that a guy like J.C. Cornell of The Draft Network floated the possibility of the Bucs picking up recently released Dolphins quarterback Josh Rosen, it made Joe think for a few moments.
But only a few.
If Josh Rosen clears waivers, the Buccaneers have got to reevaluate the backup QB situation. I get Gabbert needs to be here, but if you could replace Ryan Griffin with Rosen you do it.
JR has the potential to take over after the Brady day’s. Let TB12 groom him. #GoBucs
— JC Cornell (@CornellNFL) September 5, 2020
In a perfect world, yeah, the Bucs could bring in Rosen on the cheap. And if he is salvageable, with these alleged masterminds of the quarterback position on the biggest and brightest coaching staff, perhaps they can split Rosen’s atom.
Signing Rosen, the 10th overall pick in 2018, would be a stark sidestep of Arians’ deeply held philosophy of staying clear of any quarterback chatter from the outside. Then again, one reason Rosen is where he is now (unemployed after being released by the Dolphins yesterday) is because of someone on the staff of the biggest and brightest, Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.
If not for Mitch Trubisky, Rosen likely would be known as one of the most colossal busts in recent NFL history, drafted before guys like Vita Vea, Derwin James, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Lamar Jackson, Nick Chubb and M.J. Stewart.
Rosen was such a colossal bust that the Cardinals drafted a quarterback No. 1 overall the following season, Kyler Murray.
Lying at the feet of Leftwich is the Rosen bust, at least part of it.
Joe knows Bucs fans will howl over that last sentence and likely drop their spoons in their bowls of Cheerios. Joe is a big coaches guy. Big! And that’s both good and bad.
Joe gives coaches tons of credit for developing players and equal amounts of blame for players being massive failures.
(To give up on a first-round pick of a quarterback in less than a year is extraordinary — in fact, it had never happened in the Super Bowl era until Rosen was traded to Miami.)
Leftwich was Rosen’s quarterback coach and offensive coordinator in Arizona. Joe cannot look the other way and give Leftwich a full and complete pass on Rosen and act like that season never happened.
And this is why Joe is dubious Rosen will ever land in Tampa, as long as Leftwich is here — and Rosen may not want to even come because of Leftwich.
So with Leftwich’s dubious history with Rosen, and Arians’ lack of desire to groom a quarterback for the post-Brady era, Joe won’t gamble a nickel that Rosen signs with the Bucs.
September 5th, 2020 at 8:02 am
I prefer Aaron Rodgers in 2 years!
September 5th, 2020 at 8:10 am
Two teams have passed on him now, in two years. He’s most certainly a bust. Also, if the Bucs are indeed all in, they need their 3rd QB to be someone who knows this offense inside out, as does Griffin. Remember, there is the possibility both Brady and Gabbert do down due to COVID. I’d rather have Griffin step in than Rosen.
September 5th, 2020 at 8:11 am
He was drafted before M J Stewart?? Wow, what a horrible evaluation of talent..
September 5th, 2020 at 8:17 am
Sometimes it’s the guy, not the coach.
Are Jamarcus Russells coaches to blame for his busting?
No. It was him.
Are Ryan Leaf’s coaches to blame for his busting?
No. It was him.
ECT…..
If a guy is a bust, not even a hall of fame coach can save him.
I don’t hold Leftwich accountable on this one.
September 5th, 2020 at 8:37 am
Bruce Arians will ride the Brady train as much as is possible. It will be risk it or no biscuit all the way. If Brady (Lord forbid) goes down, so be it! The future is not at all on Arians mind. I believe he’d rather fill the roster with another quality player at any other position to help him win right now. Go Bucs & Go B.A.!
September 5th, 2020 at 8:38 am
Bucnuts, Ryan Leaf was totally uncoached. He may have been a busy on his own, but the lack of direction by the chargers helped seal the doom
September 5th, 2020 at 8:39 am
Oops bust
September 5th, 2020 at 8:45 am
Stiff to the 10th power!!!
September 5th, 2020 at 8:54 am
Rosen would be cheaper to keep than Ryan Griffins $4 mill.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:02 am
Brady says he wants to play another four or five years. So, in another three or four years, we look to the draft, or sign Aaron Rodgers.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:07 am
Folks forget….Alex Smith looked like trash his first few yrs. Why? Because he had a new offensive coordinator for 3 or 4 straight yrs. Once he got some consistency in an offense, he settled into being a very serviceable QB on multiple playoff teams.
I think Rosen is worth a look…throw him on the bench with no expectations but to learn. Griffin will never see the field…..so why we keep him is perplexing.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:09 am
Elita Vita agree 100%. Get a quality player for this year. If Brady goes down doesn’t matter who the backup is.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:11 am
If anyone knows Rosen, it is Leftwich. Rosen is already familiar with much of Leftwich’s offense, but not nearly all of it. If Leftwich thinks he is salvageable, we sign him. If not, this is very telling of Rosen. If a former coach doesn’t want you on the cheap, no other team will want you at any price.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:22 am
No
September 5th, 2020 at 9:25 am
I’m guessing his attitude is another reason for him being on the street. He probably doesn’t take well to coaching with that ego.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:27 am
Thinking Rodgers may be on his new team this time next year.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:28 am
This is silly, Joe. The big reason why the Cardinals went Murray is because of Kingsbury’s offense. And then the Dolphins were tanking for Tua. You can’t say he’s a bust strictly on playing ability, he had two unique circumstances.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:53 am
Rodgers is in a very similar situation with how Brady was 3 years ago or so with Jimmy GQ breathing down his neck. The only difference is, Rodgers probably doesn’t have the owner’s ear quite like Brady did. They both never got the best supporting cast the last couple of years also.
The only way Rodgers stays for 2 years is if he takes the Packers to the playoffs this year and lets his play do the talking. Personally, either way, Rodgers should be the Packer’s QB for 2 years. Let boy wonder marinate under Rodgers.
If Rodgers leaves after this year, Brady is still here unless he’s injured. But, it would be so Yankees to get Rodgers after Brady and continue the hype train.
September 5th, 2020 at 9:55 am
*correction on the Packer’s owner. They’re publically owned by the fans. So, I guess it would be the GM who decides whether Rodgers stays or goes.
September 5th, 2020 at 10:23 am
Grffin thrown 4 passes in his nfl career and hes 30 years old. Hes making 1.675 mil WHY?
September 5th, 2020 at 10:27 am
I think signing Josh Rosen would be a good idea. I would take him over Bradford, who, as we all know, only made it thru training camp uninjured is because there was no contact.
Josh Rosen didn’t do well, but at this point we have no one for when Brady retires. We could start kicking tires here and there. Keep Griffin. He may not have a ton of experience, but he also hasn’t let us down much.
September 5th, 2020 at 10:30 am
Allbuccedup,
First, that’s pennies in the NFL. Second, we have a 44 year old QB? Griffin could play another 15 years if he shines.
There has to be some reason he has not been cut by multiple coaches.
September 5th, 2020 at 10:47 am
I see the shot at our GM with the MJ Stewart comment lol
September 5th, 2020 at 11:04 am
Griffin is a better QB than Rosen. Don’t even think about trying to salvage Rosen. The guy is a disaster. In this COVID era we need two backup QBs that have trained In the system and are ready to play tomorrow.
September 5th, 2020 at 11:17 am
Wasn’t Josh Rosen the one whining on his draft night about all the teams that didn’t drafted Jim making a huge mistake….🤣🤣…..well I guess them GM’s were right after all…..Bust!!….Nope.
September 5th, 2020 at 11:29 am
I love how so many people don’t understand that the situation players are put in greatly help determine their success or failure.
Prime example Lamar Jackson, does anyone here think that he would have near the success if they didn’t draw up running plays for him?
What if Mahomes got drafted by the Lions does anyone think he would be MAHOMES?
Some players truly are busts, but when a player gets 3 head coaches in 5 years, for example, it certainly makes it hard to be successful.
September 5th, 2020 at 11:32 am
Joe – if coaching is so important in player evaluation , then you already know the reason Rosen was launched. The Cards got a new head coach. He wasn’t tired to any player. He got the chance to draft an incredibly gifted playmaker KM. He drafted him. That is the biggest reason Rosen was sent packing, period.
But sure, it was that one year with Leftwich that proves he ruined Rosen and can’t coach.
In BA I Trust!
September 5th, 2020 at 11:43 am
The guy was a top ten pick and now he’s looking for his third team in less than 3 years, it’s not entirely Rosen’s fault, but it does highlight the fact that for young QBs to have some success they need a stable organization and commitment to the head coach.
September 5th, 2020 at 11:44 am
Sport:
It is difficult for Joe to wrap his head around that a franchise that invested heavily — as in tens of millions of dollars — and gave up on the guy in a few months, which has never happened in (at least) 50 years — but the man who was directly responsible for developing him is fully and totally blameless that Rosen was an abject failure with the Cardinals.
If you are going to give Leftwich a pass on that, then you shouldn’t give him a lick of credit for having Jameis throw 5,000 yards last year and lead the league or for any ounce of credit for what Brady may do this year.
Notice Joe has never blamed Leftwich for Jameis doubling his previous high watermark for picks — but you sure could make an argument for that if you wished.
As for Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury, pretty sure the Cardinals decided to go after Murray first because he was tearing up college football so much and Kingsbury, who ran a similar offense to Oklahoma’s with several teams, would have been the best coach for Murray.
September 5th, 2020 at 12:19 pm
Joe – good clarification on your perspective. We differ in that I put more stock in your last paragraph related to the reason why.
Could be as straightforward as when they were in talks with Kingsbury he said “if I do come, I want to pick my players that can best run my system, no questions asked”.
Occam’s Razor – “the simplest explanation is most likely the right one”.
In BA I Trust!
September 5th, 2020 at 12:21 pm
If you can get Rosen on the cheap…You get him.
Griffin is no a NFL QB. He’s Scout Team meat. (Otherwise, he would have replaced JW3 when the Bucs were out of it in 2019!)
The AZ issue was not on him…Look at that roster. Not many Rookies would have fared better. Rosen didn’t fit Kingsbury’s system..Murray did.
In MIA, TUA was taken to sell tickets that Rosen couldn’t do on the bounce.
+ FitzMagic.
If Leftwich has any belief in Rosen…It makes a ton of sense to get him cheap & let him learn behind TB12 for a yr & then see if he can be the guy when TB12 walks into the sunset.
September 5th, 2020 at 12:57 pm
“Sometimes it’s the guy, not the coach”
Agreed, AKicknTheBucNuts. Ive seen so many people making excuse after excuse for Rosen ever since he started with the Cardinals. He never impressed me even as a college prospect.
Some folks just have to understand the NFL is hard to play in and not for everyone.
September 5th, 2020 at 1:29 pm
This is an easy one. BL already knows who’s better between Rosen, and Griffin. So let’s see what happens.
September 5th, 2020 at 3:18 pm
I say Rodgers when brady hangs it up…
Brady said 4 more years this season will tell us if he is right
September 5th, 2020 at 3:32 pm
Rosen and Winston- 1 year each
Maybe Leftwhich is the one who sucks?
September 5th, 2020 at 3:40 pm
No! F*** no! No josh rosen–get somebody else sometime way later
September 5th, 2020 at 3:59 pm
Pay him the NFL minimum and put him on the practice squad.
There is a lot of upside to that kid.