This Juicy Antonio Brown-Josh Rosen Trade Scenario Makes Too Much Sense
By Bobby Burack
Discussing possible offseason moves, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell brought up the most intriguing trade idea yet sending disgruntled Antonio Brown to the Arizona Cardinals for Josh Rosen. This would then lead to Kliff Kingsbury replacing Rosen with, well, Kyler Murray in the draft:
“They [Steelers] could use a first-round pick to target Roethlisberger’s replacement — there’s also a particularly juicy idea of trading Brown to the Cardinals for Josh Rosen and a midround pick, with the Cardinals then using the first overall pick on Kyler Murray — but one of the reasons to keep Brown was to try to maximize Pittsburgh’s chances of winning one more Super Bowl during the tail end of Roethlisberger’s career.”
This would be a win-win-win with the last “win” being the football watchers. Any move that leads Murray to Kingsbury’s offense will make the Cardinals watchable again. But putting him in an offense with Brown would give those with Sunday Ticket another team to focus on each and every weekend. The 32nd ranked offense last year would quickly become quick-hitting and explosive with these moves. Oh, and a return to his best form David Johnson is not out of the question, either.
If any team can be successful in weeding out Brown’s dramatic antics, it would be the Cardinals. Being paired with Larry Fitzgerald, the epitome of a non-diva wide receiver, could be just what is needed to avoid becoming Terrell Owens later in his career.
Fans of the Steelers will not love a package that doesn’t elevate their chances of another Super Bowl under Ben Roethlisberger. Yet, this would be a much more strategic move. Roethlisberger will be 37 by the start of the year, and is already a diminished version of his former self. He groused about the team drafting Mason Rudolph in the third round last year, and adding Rosen gives them more insurance to transition at the position soon. Yes, he had a forgettable rookie showing, but his situation is largely to blame. A prototypical, full of potential quarterback being groomed behind Roethlisberger sure has a good ring to it. This is also a way to prevent him from helping Bill Belichick’s legacy.
The positive about this trade idea is we won’t have to wait too long to see if it becomes a thing with the draft rapidly approaching. For the sake of the Cardinals, Steelers, Murray, Brown, Rosen, the NFL, and the fans, let’s hope it becomes a thing.