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Kliff Kingsbury Praises 'Extremely Talented' Josh Rosen, Talks Patrick Mahomes
January 10, 2019
Newly hired Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury offered some kind words for his current and former quarterbacks Thursday.
Kingsbury appeared on Good Morning Football and called Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen "an extremely talented thrower," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Kingsbury also discussed signal-caller Patrick Mahomes, who played under him at Texas Tech and who will lead the Kansas City Chiefs against the Indianapolis Colts in a playoff clash Saturday.
With regard to the leading NFL MVP candidate, Kingsbury said, "He's a guy who loves the bright lights on him, and I expect him to play his best football."
Kingsbury's comments came after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday that Kingsbury could orchestrate the trading of Rosen in order to open the door for the Cardinals to select Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft should he choose to declare.
Murray won the 2018 Heisman Trophy and he will be a highly sought-after commodity in the draft if he does decide to enter it rather than pursuing a baseball career with the Oakland Athletics.
Arizona selected Rosen with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft out of UCLA, and he struggled for much of his rookie season.
In 14 appearances (13 starts), Rosen completed just 55.2 percent of his passes for 2,278 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Rosen went 3-10 as a starter, and the Cards finished with the NFL's worst record overall at 3-13.
Given his success with quarterbacks at the collegiate level, Kingsbury may be the ideal coach to work with Rosen provided he is interested in sticking with him over the long term.
Mahomes is the greatest example of Kingsbury's ability to develop quarterbacks, as he managed to help him get selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft despite the stigma of playing in a somewhat gimmicky offense at Texas Tech.
The move has paid major dividends for the Chiefs, as Mahomes had one of the greatest quarterback seasons in NFL history in 2018 with 5,097 passing yards, 50 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 272 yards and two scores.
It isn't yet known how Mahomes will react on the playoff stage, but against quarterback Andrew Luck and a red-hot Colts team, Mahomes will need to be at his best in order to help the Chiefs advance to the AFC Championship Game.