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Four years after indirectly condemning the Browns for passing on him at the top of the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Rosen has landed in Cleveland as an insurance quarterback, joining his sixth team in five seasons. Even after trading away former No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield, the Browns have two established names under center in Deshaun Watson and Jacoby Brissett. But Watson faces a potentially serious suspension from the NFL, and Brissett is the only other arm on the roster with starting experience. So Rosen is coming aboard on a one-year deal before training camp, as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported Thursday.
Rosen was in town earlier Thursday to work out alongside free agent backup AJ McCarron as the Browns explore additional QB options. Rosen was considered one of the top players in the 2018 class when Cleveland drafted Mayfield, eventually going No. 10 overall to the Cardinals. Now, he’s slated to open camp competing with former Steelers backup Joshua Dobbs for the Browns’ No. 3 job behind Watson and Brissett.
It’s possible, if not likely, that Rosen could begin the 2022 season as the team’s primary backup, with Watson expected to be suspended for his alleged pattern of sexual assault and/or misconduct while playing for the Texans. The Browns could still explore a deal for 49ers veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, but if Watson isn’t sidelined for the entire 2022 campaign, all signs point to Cleveland relying on Brissett, who has started for the Patriots, Colts and Dolphins during of your career as an emergency back-up.
Rosen, 25, has yet to stay with the team for more than one season. The former UCLA QB went 3-10 as a starter for the rebuilding Cardinals as a rookie and was traded to the Dolphins the following offseason as Arizona prepared to select current starter Kyler Murray. He managed just one touchdown and five interceptions in three starts for Miami, then bounced between the Buccaneers, 49ers and Falcons as a backup from 2020-2021.
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