New year, new team, new city, same mindset for Josh Rosen.
Following Friday's trade from Arizona to Miami, the second-year signal-caller said he's ready to battle for the Dolphins' starting gig.
"They just wanted me to come in and compete," Rosen said at his introductory press conference in Miami on Monday. "I'm excited and ready for it. ... At the end of the day I just want to come in and play football and compete and have fun. The timing of when I play or not or if, that's not up to me. It's kind of similar to the situation the last couple of days; I just try to control what I can control and take each day by day."
The Dolphinsshipped a late second-round pick (No. 62 overall) and a 2020 fifth-rounder to Arizona to free Rosen from a tumultuous situation after the Cardinalsdrafted Kyler Murray No. 1 overall.
"It felt like I got drafted twice," Rosen said of the back-to-back draft anxiety he's dealt with.
After Arizona traded up last year in the first round to snag Rosen at No. 10 overall, the quarterback said he wanted to make all the teams who passed on him for other QBs pay.
Then his rookie season unfolded in laborious fashion on a team riddled with holes that provided no cushion for a first-year player trying to find his footing. Rosen dealt with shuffling offensive coordinators and played behind one of the worst offensive lines in football, with an injured, old or ineffective receiving crew and little run support. In flashes, he displayed the skills that made him a top-10 pick, but rampant inconsistency spoiled his season.
Then, after 13 starts, 2,278 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, 14 interceptions and just three wins, the Cardinals gave up on him in favor of a dual-threat Heisman Trophy-winner.
"I don't think my chip's going to grow any more; I might tip over," Rosen said when asked if he'd use the past year as motivation.
He now joins a rebuilding Dolphins team that initially signed veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick this offseason to be its starter. Rosen said right now he's penciled in as the backup but is ready to prove he can be an NFL starter.
"I think on paper I am (the backup), but coach (Brian) Flores said we don't really have any starter right now," Rosen said. "I think that's healthy to have good competition everywhere. And whether I was the first, seventh string, I wouldn't change what I did every day."
Given that the Dolphins need to find out if Rosen can be the quarterback of the future -- or whether they'll need to draft another one next year, as GM Chris Grier suggested -- expect Rosen to see the field at some point this season, whether or not that's Week 1.
Joining the Dolphins, Rosen has comported himself with aplomb, saying the right things and avoiding getting bogged down in a past he can't change.
As relayed to Robert Klemko of The MMQB, Rosen told his agent while the draft drama unfolded last week that he's ready to take on any challenge necessary to be a starting NFL quarterback.
"I'm fine," Rosen said, via Klemko. "It's not like I'm some child soldier in Darfur. I've had it pretty good. I think it's time I had some legitimate adversity handed to me."
After the Cardinals gave up on him after just one season, Rosen now moves to South Beach to battle his latest challenge.
