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Josh Rosen named starting quarterback for Arizona Cardinals
During Monday's news conference in Tempe, Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks announced a switch at quarterback.
Wilks said rookie Josh Rosen will start 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 made the decision Monday morning, before telling both quarterbacks and the rest of the team. Wilks also said this is not just a one-game trial for Rosen.
“Josh is our starter, and this is his job to lose," Wilks said.
Rosen came into Sunday's game vs. the Bears with 4:31 left. He completed four of his seven passes for 36 yards in his NFL debut. He also had a pass intercepted and was sacked on the final play of the game.
Sam Bradford threw two first-quarter touchdowns but was pulled from the game after going 13-for-19 for 157 yards, with his last three drives ending in turnovers, with two interceptions and a 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 switch.
"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 completed 16 of 29 passes for 148 yards with one touchdown.
The Cardinals (0-3) host the Seattle Seahawks (1-2) at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday. Arizona has not started a season worse since moving to the Valley in 1988
With the Cleveland Browns' announcement on Monday that rookie Baker Mayfield is the new starter there, four of the five quarterbacks selected in the last NFL draft are set to start this weekend, including Sam Darnold with the Jets and Josh Allen with the Bills.
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.
In the last week, those rookies have injected new energy into their teams, particularly Mayfield who led the Browns to their first win since 2016. Wilks thinks Rosen can have a similar effect in Arizona.
"Josh plays with a lot of confidence. I think he gives us an opportunity to be successful," Wilks said.
