With Carson Palmer retired, the Arizona Cardinals need a new starting quarterback. Currently, they have one. But that could change.
“We’re pushing everybody to start,” coach Steve Wilks said Friday, via NFL.com. “I’ve stated this several times: Sam Bradford is our starter. We gotta go out there with 11 guys and Sam’s going to be the first guy out there. But everybody’s fighting for a position, so I’m not going to hold [Josh Rosen] back at all.
“I want guys competing, I want guys fighting for a starting job. Whoever ends up winning the position, that’s who’s going to end up playing.”
That’s the smart way to do it. If a rookie establishes himself as the best guy, he needs to be playing, period. That’s what the Bills are doing with Josh Allen, but apparently not what the Browns are doing with Baker Mayfield.
It’s what the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson six years ago, when he unexpectedly outperformed Matt Flynn. People outside the team were surprised; people inside the team weren’t, because they knew Wilson was the best option.