Josh Rosen‘s time in Arizona lasted a single season before the Cardinals supplanted him with Kyler Murray. The machinations of how the quarterback went from future of the franchise to superfluous afterthought have been rehashed over and over in the aftermath of Rosen’s trade to the Miami Dolphins.
One aspect of the situation becomes crystal clear the more Rosen speaks about the still-fresh situation: He was kept in the dark by the organization, specifically general manager Steve Keim.
Joining The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday, Rosen said he never heard from Keim before or after the Murray selection, or even following the trade to Miami.
“The only thing that really did kind of frustrate me through this whole process was like I still haven’t heard from my old GM,” Rosen said, not mentioning Keim by name. “I hadn’t talked to him for months before. Still haven’t talked to him after. That was kind of frustrating, but for the most part, I’m just ready to put that whole chapter behind me and keep pushing on and playing football.”
Rosen told Eisen that it was coach Kliff Kingsbury who called him right before the Cardinals made Murray the No. 1 overall pick.
“My agent gave me a call about five minutes before saying, ‘Don’t be surprised if this might happen.’ I was like, ‘Alright, it is what it is, we’ll see how the cards end up falling. But you know I’m going to compete wherever I am,'” Rosen said. “So Kliff gave me an actual call a minute before it happened saying that we’re going to draft Kyler. I mean, I have the most respect for Kliff. I don’t slight anyone for making business decisions they think are best for them and their family, but I appreciated how he acted like a man and was very respectful. He was wishing me the best. He called me even the day after the draft wishing me good luck. And I wished him good luck. I even gave Kyler a call, sent him a text that said good luck, I’m wishing you the best.
“But that’s kind of all you can really ask for in this game. People make decisions for whatever reason. But as long as they are men about it and they respect someone’s career, then I can appreciate that.”
Rosen relayed that even the coach didn’t know how the situation would turn out after the Cards selected Murray.
“Literally [Kingsbury is] like, ‘Hey, so we’re about to draft Kyler. I don’t really know what happens now,'” Rosen said. “And I responded, ‘I don’t really know what happens either.’ But regardless, at least he gave me the courtesy of giving me the call. I love everyone in that building, with the exception of maybe one or two guys there.
“For the most part I love everyone in that Arizona Cardinals building, from Tom Reed, the trainer, to Brett Fischer, the [physical therapist] there, to the kitchen crew, it was an unbelievable experience. I had an awesome time. I’m bummed to move on, but I’m excited. And it’s been an interesting ride, but I think it just makes the story a little bit better.”
Given that the 22-year-old tossed love to the kitchen crew but didn’t hear from his GM, we can guess one of the guys he doesn’t love in Arizona.
In the end, Rosen is in a new city with a new team, battling Ryan Fitzpatrick for a starting job. If he turns out to be franchise signal-caller in Miami, the time in Arizona will be a note in his biography.
And the Cardinals made their decision to plow forward with the dynamic Murray and move on from Rosen for nickels on the dollar. That was Keim’s business decision to make. Still, it just seems like odd optics for the GM of a franchise not to give a courtesy call to a former starting quarterback he’s shipping out of town.