Why the Vikings should consider trading for Josh Rosen

The Minnesota Vikings should think about trading for quarterback Josh Rosen.

This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings decided to give an extension to Kirk Cousins that will keep the quarterback under contract until 2023. Cousins is expected to remain the Vikings starting signal-caller for the next two seasons, but it’s possible the team could look to move on after 2021.

If it does get to the point where Minnesota is looking for a new quarterback in two years, there is someone they could add to the roster right now to be Cousins’ potential replacement in the future.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday, the Miami Dolphins are currently listening to trade offers for quarterback Josh Rosen, a first-round draft pick in 2018. At 23-years-old and still having a ton of potential left, there are a number of reasons why the Vikings should look into acquiring Rosen from the Dolphins.

Could Josh Rosen be a future starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings?

In 2022, Minnesota can release or trade Cousins and it would free up $35 million in cap space. This is the only year on his current deal in which the Vikings can part ways with the veteran quarterback without having to deal with a significant amount of dead cap.

If Minnesota were to acquire Rosen in a trade, they could let him sit out for the next two seasons and allow him to get a full understanding of the team’s offense. Then if the Vikings are looking to move on from Cousins in 2022, they would already have a young quarterback who is familiar with the offense and ready to be their starter.

At the very least, Rosen would be a big-time upgrade over Minnesota’s current No. 2 quarterback, Sean Mannion. The Vikings would likely be much better off if Rosen had to fill in for Cousins for a few games during the next two years instead of Mannion.

Even if Minnesota ends up deciding they would like to continue on with Cousins as their starting quarterback in 2022, the team could potentially trade Rosen and at least acquire some late-round draft assets.

Since he was selected with the 10th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, Rosen’s time in the league hasn’t gone very smoothly. In 16 career starts with the Cardinals and Dolphins, he’s only completed 54.8 percent of his passes for 2,845 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions.

Obviously, those aren’t numbers to brag about. But Rosen’s struggles in the last two seasons haven’t been entirely his fault. It’s not like he was surrounded by an abundance of talent in Miami or Arizona.

Thanks to his struggles though, Rosen shouldn’t cost much to acquire in a trade right now. A late-round draft selection or two should get the job done to convince the Dolphins to agree to a deal.

What would the Vikings have to lose? Minnesota’s front office always talks about how they’re always thinking about moves that could impact the team two or three years down the road. So why not take a chance on a guy like Rosen who could potentially develop into the franchise’s next starting quarterback?