Less than four years ago, the Cardinals changed the trajectory of their franchise by selecting Kyler Murray with the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, which left the quarterback they selected 10th overall the previous year, Josh Rosen, without a future, and ready to be traded. The second round of the draft was underway the following day, and at pick 62, with the Miami Dolphins on the clock, they traded with the Cardinals to acquire Rosen.
The 62nd pick acquired by the Cardinals was used to select speedy wide receiver Andy Isabella. The UMass product ran a WR-best 4.31s in the 40-yard dash and quickly rose up draft boards. He never quite worked out for the Cardinals as he was barely used, like anywhere. He played 16% of snaps as a rookie and had nine catches for 189 yards and one touchdown and rushed four times for 15 yards. In 2020, he played 34% of snaps and had 21 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns. In 2021, he dropped to 5% of snaps and was only active for eight games, recording one catch for 13 yards, and was a healthy scratch the rest of the season. He couldn’t even get time as a return specialist, and was primarily used as a gunner, not what you’d want for a second-round prospect. He played in three games in 2022 before being released and signed with the Ravens practice squad and spent some time on their active roster. He is currently signed for the 2023 season in Baltimore.
So while the return for Rosen appeared high, it did not pan out well for the second-round selection, but the fifth-round pick return has a neat little story.
The acquisition of Miami’s fifth-round pick would’ve actually given Arizona back-to-back picks in the round. However, the Cardinals selected safety Jalen Thompson in the fifth round of the 2019 supplemental draft, which meant they would give up their own 2020 fifth-round pick, but luckily they had one to spare. But instead of making a selection in April 2020, they traded it away in October 2019 at the deadline…back to the Dolphins, for running back Kenyan Drake. The Dolphins used that pick to acquire a running back of their own during the 2020 draft, but not through the draft. They acquired Matt Breida from the 49ers, who used said pick to select offensive lineman Colton McKivitz. Breida went on to have a limited role for Miami in 2020 as the No. 3 back to Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed. He went on to sign with the Bills the following season. So the Dolphins got that pick back six months later, giving up a running back about set to hit free agency after the season, and got a menial season from Breida.
The Cardinals were having a rough season at the time of the trade. After losing to the Saints the day prior, they dropped to a 3-4-1 record in its first season with Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury. Their once-thought-of superstar running back David Johnson, two years removed from his season-ending wrist injury, and was already a shell of himself. He had a down 2018 season, and was off to a rough 2019 season, totaling 300 rushing yards through seven weeks (43 yards/game) and just suffered an ankle injury. Second-year backup Chase Edmonds filled in after the injury and played well in relief, but struggled in his first start. So the Cardinals acquired Drake, and immediately brought juice to that offense.
In his first game in Week 9 against the 49ers, he ran for 110 yards along with four catches for 52 yards in a close 28-25 loss. Despite the hot start, his next four games were mediocre and the Cards had four more losses. However in Week 14 against the Browns, Drake popped off for the fantasy performance of a lifetime with 137 rushing yards and FOUR touchdowns in a 38-24 win. He followed it up the following week with 166 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the season as Arizona’s leading rusher as Johnson was relegated to a backup, playing 26% of snaps to Drake’s 80%.
The following offseason, Drake was given the transition tag for $8.483 million, ran for a career-high 955 yards and 10 touchdowns, then signed a two-year deal with the Raiders. The Cardinals eventually got a 2022 sixth-round compensatory pick for the loss of Drake, which was used to select guard Lecitus Smith.
So that’s pretty much the story of the Cardinals compensation for the Josh Rosen trade. They were so bad with Rosen as a starter in 2018 that they got the first overall pick to select Kyler Murray. They then traded Rosen and essentially got 3+ bad years of Andy Isabella, a season and a half of arguably the best of Kenyan Drake, and a comp pick that turned into a backup guard.
So now, how did the Dolphins make out with this trade?
Not so well.
The 2017 and 2018 Miami Dolphins seasons were some of the darkest times for their franchise over the last decade. After a promising 2016 season that finished with a 10-6 record and a Wild Card loss to the Steelers, the Dolphins looked ready to take the next step. The end of the previous season was hoping to end better, however a late-season knee injury to Ryan Tannehill cut it short, and proved very costly to the 2017 team. In Week 13 of the 2016 season, Tannehill suffered a partially torn ACL, ending his season. He elected to not undergo surgery and opted for stem-cell therapy and rehab. That decision proved to be costly, because in early August of 2017 in the thick of training camp, Tannehill suffered a non-contact injury in practice to that same knee. It was revealed to be a torn ACL and was out for the entire season. Shortly after, the Dolphins signed Jay Cutler out of retirement, started 14 games, and the Dolphins finished with a 6-10 record.
In 2018, Tannehill returned as the starter, starting 11 games, missing five due to a shoulder injury, which were started by Brock Osweiler. The Dolphins went 7-9 on the season, missed the playoffs, and were due for a change.
In March 2019, the Dolphins traded Tannehill and a 2019 sixth-rounder to the Titans for a 2020 fourth-rounder and a 2019 seventh-rounder. The lone quarterbacks on the Dolphins roster were Luke Falk and Jake Rudock. As free agency soon began, the Dolphins signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick to a two-year deal to be their starter, but likely didn’t feel too comfortable about their future. Fitzmagic was 37 years old in the twilight years of his career, so the Dolphins had to think young, and Falk and Rudock were definitely not it.
The 2019 draft has arrived, the Cardinals selected Kyler Murray first overall, and Josh Rosen was now available. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk had reported that the Dolphins were “closing in on a deal” to trade the No. 48 pick to the Cardinals, but never materialized. They later traded that pick to the Saints and moved back to No. 62, but the Dolphins were still very interested in a deal for Rosen. They traded No. 62 and the future fifth for Rosen, giving them QB options for 2019 and the future.
Training camp and the preseason came and went and Fitzpatrick was ultimately named the starter. After struggling in Weeks 1 and 2, Rosen came in in relief of Fitzpatrick in two blowout losses and was named the starter in Week 3. He started the next three games, threw one touchdown and three interceptions, and was benched in the fourth quarter of Week 5, and never saw the field again. The Dolphins finished 5-11, last in the division, and an early pick in the next draft.
Holding the fifth pick of the draft, the Dolphins selected Tua Tagovailoa, signaling the end for Rosen as the future of the Dolphins. He was released at the end of training camp.
So in total, the Dolphins received a season of backup QB play from Rosen, a season of backup RB play from Matt Breida, but all that led to the selection of Tua, who may or may not be their franchise QB.
To this date in 2023, Rosen has yet to find success. He was set up for failure as a rookie with a first-year head coach that was fired after one season in Steve Wilks, an offensive coordinator in Mike McCoy fired midseason, bad offensive weapons, a bad offensive line, and no true opportunity. He was the backup to Sam Bradford of all people to start the season, and he was clearly the better option, because Bradford STINKS. But he was not set up for success in any way, and can not get it anywhere.
Since his release from the Dolphins, Rosen signed with the Buccaneers practice squad at the start of the season. He was later signed by the 49ers in December following injuries to Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Mullens, but never played a snap. He competed for a backup job in 2021 but was released before the season. He quickly signed with the Falcons and was named the primary backup to Matt Ryan. He came in relief in three games and went 2-for-11 for 19 yards and two interceptions for a disappointing Falcons team. He signed with the Browns in July 2022 and spent a few weeks on their practice squad before an October 2022 release. He then signed with the Vikings practice squad in December and was not re-signed.
Rosen is currently a street free agent, and looking for his next opportunity. He has not been given a realistic chance in years, and it doesn’t look like he’ll have one anytime soon. We may have seen the last of the former No. 10 overall pick in the NFL.
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