Four years after he indirectly accused the Browns of 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 pick Baker Mayfield, the Browns have two established names under center in Deshaun Watson and Jacoby Brissett. But Watson faces a potentially serious NFL post, and Brissett is the only other arm on the roster with starting experience. So Rosen is coming to a one-year deal before practice, as Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported Thursday. Rosen was in town earlier Thursday to work out with free agent AJ McCarron as the Browns look for additional QB options. Rosen was highly regarded as one of the top signal-callers in the 2018 class when Cleveland drafted Mayfield, eventually going No. 10 overall to the Cardinals. Now he’s slated to open camp competing with former Steelers backup Joshua Dobbs for the Browns’ No. 3 spot behind Watson and Brissett. It’s possible, if not likely, that Rosen could open the 2022 season as the team’s primary backup, with Watson 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 unless Watson is suspended for the entire 2022 campaign, all indications are that Cleveland is banking on Brissett, who started for the Patriots, Colts and Dolphins during his career. emergency filling. 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 between the Buccaneers, 49ers and Falcons as a backup from 2020-2021.
