With Deshaun Watson facing a possible suspension, the Bruin will help round out the depth chart behind Jacoby Brissett.
Right after he was selected No. 10 overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Rosen famously told reporters there were nine mistakes made ahead of him.
The Cleveland Browns, who owned the No. 1 and No. 4 picks in that draft, were therefore accused of making two mistakes in one night.
Thursday afternoon, they apparently made an effort to make up for those mistakes.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Browns signed Rosen to a one-year deal. It will mark the sixth team Rosen has been on since leaving UCLA football and entering the league.
The Browns reportedly worked out Rosen and AJ McCarron earlier this week, according to Mary Kay Cabbot of Cleveland.com. Despite trading for Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson earlier in the offseason and signing him to a $230 million contract, Cleveland was in the market for another signal-caller to round out the depth chart.
Watson is currently being investigated by the NFL in relation to the 24 allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct made against him. Although Watson has settled 20 of those cases, the league could still end up suspending him for the entire season.
Cleveland dealt Baker Mayfield – the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 – to the Carolina Panthers earlier in July.
Jacoby Brissett is heading into training camp as the presumptive starter in Watson’s place. Cabbot also reported that Joshua Dobbs was going to be the Browns’ No. 3 quarterback, positioning Rosen for the No. 2 role should Watson get suspended.
Rosen has plenty of experience as a backup quarterback, as well as plenty of experience filling in for starters.
When he first arrived in Arizona, Rosen was behind Sam Bradford, only to take over midway through his rookie campaign. Rosen was traded to the Miami Dolphins when the Cardinals took Kyler Murray No. 1 overall in 2019, and he started out behind Ryan Fitzpatrick before eventually taking over for him as well.
Rosen did not take the field for game action in 2020, despite being under contract with both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers. The former Bruin did eventually land in Atlanta, though, and he took a few regular season snaps for the Falcons in 2021.
Across his four-year NFL career, Rosen has appeared in 24 games with 16 starts. Rosen has thrown for 2,864 yards, 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions with a 61.1 passer rating for his career.
Those numbers are a far cry from what was expected out of Rosen, a former top-10 pick, blue-chip recruit and college star.
Rosen was the highest-rated high school quarterback UCLA had ever hauled in, and he was a day-one starter in Westwood. Rosen opened up his collegiate career by going 8-5, and he closed it by passing for more yards than anyone else in program history.
In three seasons with the Bruins, Rosen started 30 games and passed for 9,340 yards, 59 touchdowns and 26 interceptions with a 140.1 passer rating.
The Browns will open up training camp July 27, and their first preseason game is scheduled for Aug. 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Rosen is one of three UCLA products on the Browns’ roster, with the others being running back Demetric Felton and defensive back Nate Meadors.
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