Sam Bradford welcomes Josh Rosen to Cardinals: 'I look forward to playing with you. I’ll be an open book.'
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The NFL Draft represents a dream come true for every name that’s called: The realization that after years and years of hard work, you’ll be able to make a living playing the game you love. It’s a new world: A new place to call home, a new organization and new teammates. Adjusting to all three of those is hugely important in making a successful transition to the pros.
Luckily for new Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen, at least one of his new teammates — quarterback Sam Bradford — is happy the No. 10 pick is headed to Glendale. The Cardinals are filming their offseason with a series titled “Flight Plan,” and the cameras were able to capture this cool moment (from azcardinals.com):
The scene plays out as Rosen and his parents and agent were being driven to the Cardinals’ Tempe facility Friday for Rosen’s introductory press conference. Rosen turns to agent Ryan Williams and says, “Sam just texted me. Bradford.” Then he reads the text.
“He said, ‘Josh, what’s up, man? Welcome to Arizona,” Rosen reads. “‘Just wanted to let you know that I look forward to playing with you. I’ll be an open book, so if you ever need anything or have any questions, feel free to ask. Hope all is well.'”
The Cardinals signed Bradford to a one-year deal worth up to $20 million earlier this offseason to provide both on-field competition and leadership to whichever young quarterback the team took, and Bradford seems to have immediately delivered on the latter. Bradford, the 2010 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, has played in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Minnesota, so he knows how to learn a playbook and run all different types of offenses. Though his career has been greatly impacted by a bevy of injuries, Bradford has been able to put up solid numbers when healthy and even set the record for single-season completion percentage, 71.6, with Minnesota in 2016, though the record was broken the next year by Drew Brees.
There’s a good chance Rosen and Bradford battle for the starting spot heading into the season, but it seems that won’t prevent Bradford from helping groom the future face of the franchise.
