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Arizona Cardinals Name Josh Rosen Starting Quarterback

Arizona Cardinals Head Coach Steve Wilks notified Josh Rosen and Sam Bradford of a quarterback change.

During his Monday press conference in Tempe, Wilks announced that rookie Josh Rosen would assume the role of starting quarterback and get the start on Sunday. 

“Looking at the situation and evaluating the film, evaluating the quarterback position, I’ve decided that Josh Rosen will be our starter going forward,” Wilks said.


Wilks came to the decision on Monday morning, prior to telling Rosen, Bradford and the rest of the Cardinals.

“Josh is our starter, and this is his job to lose,” Wilks said.

After entering with 4:31 remaining in Sunday’s game vs. Chicago, Rosen went 4-for-7 for 36 yards. In his NFL debut, Rosen also threw an interception and was sacked in the game’s final play.

Sam Bradford threw a pair of first-quarter touchdowns as the starter, but was replaced after going 13-for-19 for 157 yards and committing a turnover in each of his last three drives — two interceptions and one fumble.

“When you look at the last possession when we got that fumble, it was about 11 (minutes) and change left on the clock. At that particular time, I made the decision,” Wilks said on the in-game adjustment. “They went on a seven-minute drive right there, so it looked like Josh was thrown in at the end, but he wasn’t. He can handle those types of situations. I think he handled it well when he went in. Commanded the huddle, did a great job moving the ball.”

In two preseason games, Rosen passed for 148 yards and one touchdown, while completing 16 of 29 passes. 

Rosen’s start will come at home against the Seattle Seahawks (1-2) at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. The Cardinals (0-3) have not started a season worse since 1998 when the organization moved to the Valley.

Four of the five quarterbacks selected in the 2018 NFL Draft are slated to start this weekend. Josh Allen for the Bills, Josh Darnold for the Jets and Baker Mayfield for the Browns join Rosen.

Mayfield was the first pick, Darnold went third, Allen went seventh and Rosen was 10th pick of the first round. The Ravens selected Lamar Jackson with the final pick in the first round. 

Allen and Mayfield have each provided their organizations with an energy boost as each rookie led their team to their first win of the season. Wilks looks for Rosen to inject a similar energy boost in Arizona.

“Josh plays with a lot of confidence. I think he gives us an opportunity to be successful,” Wilks said.