Josh Rosen wanted to skip marketing event to practice with Cardinals

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

Josh Rosen, endlessly and unfairly picked apart before the NFL draft for his love of football among other things, wanted to skip an annual league marketing event so he could stay with his teammates and practice.

Rosen, the Arizona Cardinals’ first-round pick and new quarterback, told the team he wanted to decline an invitation to go to the NFLPA’s’s “rookie premiere” event in Los Angeles according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.

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Rosen was told that wasn’t possible.

NFL won’t allow rookies to skip the premiere to practice

According to Somers, Rosen wanted to skip the rookie event and practice on Thursday, the Cardinals’ final offseason practice of the week. At the rookie premiere, the league’s top 40 rookies come together in California and interact with business partners, and various endorsement deals are discussed and done in the California sunshine.

Rosen was told that he couldn’t skip the event because of a rule in the collective bargaining agreement. The league sends out a memo to teams that rookies invited to the premiere can’t practice, the Arizona Republic reported. Somers wrote there’s no specific rule in the CBA that a player who declines can’t practice or work out at the team’s facilities. However, Somers wrote there is a side agreement between the union and NFL that covers that possibility.

That’s why Rosen was not at Cardinals practice Thursday.

Good sign for the Cardinals

Rosen, who was so fired up after slipping to 10th in the draft that he referred to “nine mistakes” before he was selected, has a lot to prove.

Although a lot of pre-draft criticism of most players can come off as unfair, it becomes part of their reputation until they shake it. For Rosen, there were many questions about his personality and rumblings that he didn’t care about football enough.

While some of that came off as petty nonsense, Rosen is well aware of the perception. While insisting he wanted to skip a sponsor event to practice could be a well-strategized PR move for Rosen, it still should be a positive as the Cardinals get to know their new quarterback.

Rosen battling to start

While missing a practice won’t be what determines when Rosen gets his chance to start, he would presumably like all the time on the field that he can get.

Rosen is behind Sam Bradford on the depth chart. The Cardinals paid Bradford a ton of money this offseason before they drafted Rosen, and that might mean Bradford at least begins the season as the team’s starter.

However, Rosen will certainly push to get the job sooner rather than later. He’s already showing he wants to put in the work.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen (3) throws during an organized team activity on Tuesday. (AP)
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Rosen (3) throws during an organized team activity on Tuesday. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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