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Four years after indirectly suing the Browns for taking him at the top of the 2018 NFL Draft, Josh Rosen has landed in Cleveland as quarterback insurance, joining his sixth team in five seasons. Even after trading former No. 1 Baker Mayfield, the Browns have two established names under center, Deshaun Watson and Jacoby Brissett. But Watson faces a potentially severe suspension from the NFL, and Brissett is the only other arm on the roster with starting experience. So Rosen will come aboard on a one-year deal before training camp, as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported Thursday.
Rosen was in town earlier Thursday to work out alongside free agent reserve AJ McCarron, with the Browns looking for additional QB options. Rosen was notably considered one of the top signal-callers in the 2018 class when Cleveland drafted Mayfield, eventually going No. 10 to the Cardinals. Now he’s slated to open the field competing with former Steelers linebacker Joshua Dobbs for the Browns’ No. 3 job behind Watson and Brissett.
It’s possible, if not likely, that Rosen could open the 2022 season as the team’s primary backup, and Watson is expected to be suspended for his alleged pattern of sexual assault and/or misconduct while playing for the Texans. The Browns could still explore a trade for 49ers veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, but if Watson isn’t suspended for the entire 2022 campaign, all signs point to Cleveland leaning on Brissett, who started with the Patriots, Colts and Dolphins during the his career, as an emergency fill-in.
Rosen, 25, has yet to stay with a team for more than one season. The former UCLA QB went 3-10 as a starter for the rebuilding Cardinals as a rookie, and was traded to the Dolphins the following offseason as Arizona prepared to draft current starter Kyler Murray. He managed just one touchdown and five interceptions in three starts for Miami, then bounced around the Buccaneers, 49ers and Falcons as a backup in 2020-21.