Patrick Peterson wants experience at QB for Cardinals
By Cody Rivera
The Cardinals haven’t decided who their starting quarterback will be in 2018, but Patrick Peterson knows who he wants.
The Arizona Cardinals will have a decent pair of options at quarterback in 2018. The only problem will be deciding which one should get the starting nod to kick off the season.
The Cardinals signed veteran quarterback Sam Bradford to a two-year contract in March, and then drafted Josh Rosen from UCLA at No. 10 overall in the April draft. The Cardinals have great reasons for playing both guys; Bradford has seven years of NFL experience (not counting his lost 2014 season), while Rosen is expected to be Arizona’s franchise quarterback of the future.
If it was up to All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson, who has spent his entire seven-year career with the Cardinals, it would be the Bradford under center to start the season. For the time being, he believes it would be the best option for the team, while Rosen would get a chance to be groomed behind him.
“Well, right now I’d probably take Sam due to his experience; due to some of the records that he has in the league,” Peterson said, according to NFL.com. “Because when Sam is healthy and is on the field and has talent around him, he’s a top 10 quarterback.”
The Cardinals will most likely heed Peterson’s advice and go with Bradford to start the season. Very few good things usually come from rushing a rookie quarterback into NFL action — especially one heaped with the pressure of being the next franchise guy. Not to mention, Rosen has had a history with injuries, so the Cardinals should be cautious with him, at least during his first season or two in the league.
At the same time, however, Bradford doesn’t exactly have clean slate in the injury department either. But Peterson believes that shouldn’t be a problem for him this season
“The biggest knock on Sam is just staying on the field,” Peterson said. “I think we have a pretty good opportunity to keep him on the field because last year he really didn’t have to fix anything, just cleaning up his knee. If he’s on the field, we’ll see where the chips stack and where they fall at the end of the season.”
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If things should go awry with Bradford, then at least the Cardinals have Rosen, who probably has the most potential of any quarterback in the 2018 draft class, waiting right behind him.