Rams can relate to Cardinals with current uncertainty surrounding Josh Rosen

Similar to the Los Angeles Rams a few years ago with Jared Goff, the Arizona Cardinals seem uncertain over whether Josh Rosen is the right answer at quarterback.

As the Los Angeles Rams continue to get ready for the upcoming combine in Indianapolis, it’s crazy to look back at where this team was three years ago before Jared Goff officially came on board as the potential quarterback of the future.

After all the years spent trying to find the right answer at quarterback, the Rams decided to trade up with the Tennessee Titans during the 2016 NFL Draft in order to land the former California standout with the top overall pick.

To say Goff’s rookie campaign was a rough learning experience would be a huge understatement when taking into consideration that he failed to win a single game in seven starts, although it wasn’t entirely his fault.

Between a horrendous offensive line to go along with one of the weakest receiving corps in the league led by Tavon Austin and Kenny Britt, any criticism towards Goff as a rookie was arguably unfair, but it would get better from there.

Flash forward to the 2019 offseason, and Los Angeles has managed to improve both areas for Goff in the best ways possible while coming off back-to-back NFC West titles, with the Rams youngster playing a key role behind the team’s success.

Even more impressive, Goff and the Rams were able to punch a ticket to representing the NFC in this year’s Super Bowl before coming up way short against the New England Patriots.

Hopefully, Goff and the rest of his teammates can use what took place in the Super Bowl as a learning experience to put them in the best position possible to finish on top of the division for a third year in a row in 2019.

Speaking of the NFC West, it’s been amazing to witness how the rest of the quarterbacks within the division are shaping out since two new players entered the mix last season with Jimmy Garoppolo and Josh Rosen.

While the 49ers are focused on making sure Garoppolo continues to recover well from the torn ACL suffered early on in 2018, the Cardinals are learning the hard way that Rosen’s development may take a little extra time.

Last offseason, Arizona made one of those decisions they ended up regretting by giving Sam Bradford a ridiculous one-year, $20 million deal to be the team’s short-term answer on offense before going on to select Rosen in the draft.

Instead of spending the entire year from the sidelines to help adjust to playing in the NFL, Rosen would end up being thrown into the mix early on for Arizona in September, finishing his rookie year with a 3-10 record while completing just 11 touchdown passes and 14 interceptions.

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Frustrating? Of course, but also the Cardinals knew that like most rookies, Rosen was inexperienced, and being patient with his development process was going to be extremely important moving forward.

With that being said, a poor record by Arizona in 2018 led to the team eventually earning the top overall pick in this year’s draft, leaving many to wonder if the team would consider giving up on Rosen while replacing him with someone new.

Even Cardinals general manager Steve Keim made recent comments that made it clear the organization doesn’t seem 100 percent sold on Rosen being the answer in the long run, but all Arizona needs to do is look back at 2016 for Los Angeles to realize there is hope.

Similar to the feelings the Cardinals are having with trying to figure out if Rosen is the right answer for this team, the Rams must have been feeling the same way after Goff’s campaign.

Obviously, Arizona will make the decision they feel is best for the organization, but at least for Los Angeles, thank goodness the organization didn’t give up on Goff after only one season, or who knows what the previous two seasons would be like without the Rams quarterback.