The Philadelphia Eagles should trade a second round pick for Josh Rosen

With only three QBs on the roster following Nick Foles’ move to Jacksonville, the Philadelphia Eagles should trade for Josh Rosen to serve as Carson Wentz’s long-term backup.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a quarterback problem.

Right now, the team has three quarterbacks on their roster going into the draft; unquestioned starter Carson Wentz, third-year reserve Nate Sudfeld, and recent AAF transplant Luis Perez.

Now that’s obviously not the worst situation in the league, as there are a number of clubs either hanging on with an over the hill starter (New York Giants) or sifting through basically over-the-hill stop gaps (the Washington Redskins and the Denver Broncos), but between Wentz’s very well documented injury history, Sudfeld’s inexperience, and Perez’s longshot status to even make the roster, the Eagles could be in serious trouble if they suffer another long-term injury at the position.

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However, there is a solution to this problem that’s a little outside of the box but could pay dividends moving forward: trade for Josh Rosen.

Yes, Josh Rosen, the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft who started 13 games for the Arizona Cardinals last season under doomed lame duck head coach Steve Wilks. While the UCLA product’s freshman campaign left a lot to be desired, even when you consider that he had one of the worst supporting casts in recent memory to work with, he certainly played well enough to at least earn a chance to run new head coach Kliff Kingsbury‘s potent air raid assault, right?

Maybe not.

As you probably already know, Kingsbury appears to be enthralled with 2018 Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murry, who he tried to recruit not once, but twice while coaching in the college ranks. Owning an insane combination of natural arm strength, speed, and elusiveness within his 5-foot-10 frame, Murry could conceivably follow in the footsteps of his slightly bigger predecessor Baker Mayfield and become Oklahoma‘s second straight success story in the NFL.

Which makes Rosen expendable.

Granted, the team could decide to keep both players and develop them in concert, but after a will-they, won’t-they attitude in regards to the first overall pick, it may be wise to simply move on from Rosen and give him a fresh start in a new city.

That city should be The City (of Brotherly Love).

Now I know what you are about to type: “The Eagles already have a franchise quarterback. This idea is stupid.” to which I respond as follows; fair.

Yes, the Eagles do already have their franchise quarterback locked up in Wentz, even if the prospect of paying him $35 million a year with his injury history is enough to keep a general manager up at night, the team has a pretty well-documented history of adding high-profile quarterbacks to their roster even with a defined starter already in place.

Whether it be Randall Cunningham supplementing Ron Jaworski, Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb sharing depth charts with Donovan McNabb, the ill-advised decision to sign Vince Young, or even acquiring Nick Foles twice, the Eagles have made it a tradition to add good quarterbacks when they already have a good quarterback in place in order to have a quality backup, and to develop a solid trade chip under the watchful eyes of a quarterback guru like Andy Reid (true), Chip Kelly (eh), or now Doug Pederson (TBD).

Is Rosen a legitimate franchise quarterback? Coming out of college the answer seemed like a resounding yes, but now public opinion has started to shift.

Will Rosen net the Cards a top-10, 15, or even 20 pick for four years of his services? Probably not. I’ve even seen some suggest that Rosen will end up with a team like the New England Patriots for a third-to-fourth-round pic and to me that just seems crazy.

Rosen, who actually grew up an Eagles fan, is pretty darn good; and effective passer, a decisive decision maker in the pocket, and has enough arm talent to make any throw on the field. In the right scheme, he could become a really good, if not great starting quarterback in the NFL.

Is he worth a first round pick to a team like the Philadelphia Eagles? No, but if Murry does go first overall and Rosen is still on the roster when the second round opens up, Howie Roseman should strongly consider flipping one of the Eagles’ two second-round picks to procure the former top-10 talent.

With Rosen in the fray, the Eagles would have three talented quarterbacks 26-years-old or younger locked in for the foreseeable future. With Sudfeld’s contract set to expire at the end of the season, and Wentz only (currently) under contract through the 2020 season, adding a player like Rosen, who’s under team control through the 2022 season if his fifth-year contract is picked up, the Eagles wouldn’t have to worry about a backup for Wentz for a very long time and would have a developmental trade chip who could hold his value very well as an ascending trade chip.

And if Wentz were to go down, the Eagles would have a top-20 starting quarterback ready to take his place.

Is it the best use of a second round pick? No, that would be to use it on a safety, linebacker, or lineman, but with quarterback a deceptive need and a really good one available at a steep discount, it may be wise for the Philadelphia Eagles to consider using one of their second-round picks to acquire Josh Rosen from the Arizona Cardinals.