Less than a week after Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim gave a lukewarm response on Josh Rosen's future as the team's starting quarterback, the Cardinals are apparently looking elsewhere.
NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly said Tuesday on Up to the Minute that an executive from another team informed him the Cardinals are shopping Rosen.
In the event Rosen is moved, it sets up a potential scenario for the Cardinals and first-year head coach Kliff Kingsbury to select quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
There are apparently concerns surrounding Murray, though. Casserly points out a litany of issues he has heard surrounding the former Oklahoma quarterback's interview process at the NFL Scouting Combine.
"Well, he better hope Kingsbury takes him No. 1 because this was not good," Casserly said. "This was the worst comments I ever got on a high-rated quarterback, and I've been doing this a long time. I've probably been doing it longer than you're alive.
"Anyway, leadership -- not good. Study habits -- not good. The board work -- below not good. Not good at all in any of those areas and raising major concerns about what this guy is going to do. Now, people say, we're going to compare him to [Patrick] Mahomes, we're going to run an offense like Mahomes, we're going to run an offense like Baker Mayfield. Well, you can't. ... Those guys are much different. Those guys, you never question about their ability on the board, you never question about their leadership ability, their work habits, they were outstanding in those areas. This guy is not outstanding in those areas. It showed up in the interview."
Still, the time leading to the actual NFL draft is like an annual game of high-stakes poker with misdirection plays from teams to hide full intent in the form of leaked information to drive a player's stock either up or down.
Whether the information leaking now on Murray's experience in Indianapolis is 100 percent accurate remains to be seen, but Murray is squarely in the spotlight as one of the draft's top quarterback prospects. NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah has Arizona taking Murray No. 1 in his latest mock.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals could set themselves back if they ultimately trade Rosen and use a first-round pick on a signal-caller for a second consecutive year.
Arizona shipped a third- and fifth-round pick to the Oakland Raiders last year to move up five spots from No. 15 overall in order to select Rosen, and then proceeded to build the roster around him.
Sure, the Cardinals can get some picks back if the team trades Rosen to another team.
But for a team that has lacked stability and missed the postseason in three straight seasons, starting over again at the most important position on a football team likely signals a few more years before everything comes together with a new quarterback and coaching staff.
