The Arizona Cardinals reportedly never even contacted the New England Patriots about a potential Josh Rosen trade.
But apparently the Cardinals put the defending champions on their Rosen radar at the very last minute -- as in, while the 2019 NFL Draft was already happening.
In his column Monday, the MMQB's Robert Klemko reported that Arizona general manager Steve Keim reached out to Rosen's agent, Ryan Williams, in the middle of the draft to ask if the quarterback would want to be traded to New England.
From Klemko:
Then at 6 the Giants took former Duke quarterback Daniel Jones, and Keim asked Williams if the Patriots liked his client and might be open to making him the heir apparent to Tom Brady.
That means the Cardinals still didn't contact the Patriots about a Rosen trade before dealing the QB to the Miami Dolphins for a second- and fifth-round pick. Instead, Keim waited a full five picks after drafting Oklahoma's Kyler Murray No. 1 overall before breaching the possibility of a Patriots trade to Rosen's agent, who was "taken aback" and "angry" about the last-minute request.
"How did Keim not already know the answer?" Klemko wrote, mimicking Williams' reaction. "The whole world knew, or had a good idea, that the Cardinals were taking Murray on Thursday. Why the secrecy? Why are we negotiating trade terms now instead of weeks ago?"
Keim's apparent draft night scrambling is a bit perplexing. The Patriots reportedly were among several teams interested in Rosen, so if the Cardinals knew they were drafting Murray, they could have fielded offers for Rosen weeks in advance instead of moving him at the last minute for a second- and a fifth-rounder.
New England still found QB help elsewhere, though, taking Auburn's Jarrett Stidham in the fourth round.
New England Patriots
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