The Arizona Cardinals made a move during the 2018 NFL Draft that many predicted they would trading up to get their hands on one of the talented quarterbacks available. The team made a deal with the Oakland Raiders for the 10th pick and as a result, selected Josh Rosen out of UCLA.
With head coach Steve Wilks already impressed with what he's seen from Rosen in a short amount of time in Arizona, Sam Bradford might not have a tight grip on the starting job. Wilks has made it clear he's going to go with the best option come Week 1 which is a clear message there is a quarterback battle going on in Arizona.
On Wednesday, Wilks had more praise for Rosen saying the rookie reminds him more of a veteran rather than a first-year player due to the way he sees the game, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.
“This guy is extremely smart,” Wilks said. “I mean, his ability to see certain things from the defense, and pick it up quickly, and execute … I don’t want to say this, but he has the mindset of a vet. The way he sees the game.
“He’s not playing like a vet. Make sure you guys understand that. He’s still a rookie, OK? But he sees things, like I said before, through a different lens. And he picks it up quickly.”
As most coaches and NFL franchises tend to do with rookie quarterbacks, the team isn't ready to thrust him into the fire just yet by naming him the starter. Rosen may very well be watching from the sidelines for most if not all of the upcoming 2018 campaign, but he has a shot to be under center right out of the gate if able to prove he's a better option than Bradford or Mike Glennon.
Things are getting interesting in Arizona as they'll be one of the many teams with a quarterback competition underway leading up to Week 1 in September. Along with Rosen in the mix to be the starter, fellow rookies Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Baker Mayfield could make strong cases to earn the starting job for their respective teams before the season begins in a few months time.
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